LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



Chap.. Copyright No. 

Shelf„IK-5"7 2 5 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 






FEDERAL AND STATE 
GOVERNMENT. 



Federal and State 
Government 



AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE 
ON THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT 
OF THE UNITED ST A TES AND 
THE STATE OF ILLINOIS. 



BY 

DONALD L. MORRILL, 
Of the Chicago Bar. 



Compliments of 

the author. 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. 



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Copyright, 1900, by Donald L. Morrill. 



ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY 

Rand, McNally & Co. 



PREFACE. 

In offering this volume to the public, the author considers 
it is his duty to explain briefly the scope of the work and 
the method employed in treating the subject. Such a state- 
ment is particularly necessary in the case of an elementary 
text-book on civil government, for the increased attention 
which has been given in recent years to that study has 
caused the publication of numerous text-books, possessing 
many meritorious features. Therefore, some reason 
should be given for writing upon a subject which has been 
discussed so often by other authors. 

The first text-books upon the subject dealt with the Fed- 
eral government solely, and the study of civics was limited 
to a consideration of the Constitution and some of the laws 
of the United States Government. Later, it was found that, 
however useful and necessary a knowledge of the national 
government may be, something more is needed to prepare 
the student for the duties of citizenship, and that it is equally 
important that he should understand the systems of local 
and State government under which the citizen lives and 
which regulate most of his daily transactions. 

Recognizing this demand, other* books were written, 
whose contents embraced a consideration of the different 

(v.) 



vr FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT 

forms of government to which the individual is subjected 
from infancy to manhood, including family, school, church, 
social, municipal, State and national government. In the 
opinion of competent critics, writers of these books have 
gone to extremes in their efforts to observe the pedagogic 
precept of commencing instruction upon any subject with 
those features which are nearest to the pupil. Under this 
theory, in many text-books the study of civics is commenced 
with chapters upon domestic and social topics, which have 
no place in a work devoted to the study of civil govern- 
ment. 

This book is designed for use by students who are suffi- 
ciently advanced to take up the study of United States his- 
tory. It should be used in the higher grades of the elemen- 
tary schools, or the first year of the high school, or both, 
according to the course of study pursued. It is divided 
into two parts : the first is devoted to a study of the Federal 
government and political system ; the second to the State 
government and local institutions of Illinois. 

In the first part of the book, it has been the author's aim 
to furnish aid to students commencing the study of our 
national political institutions. Therefore, definite and spe- 
cific information is given as to the essential features of the 
Federal system, derived from sources not readily accessible 
to either teacher or pupil. No attempt has been made to 
analyze the provisions of the Federal Constitution, or to 
present controversies as to its construction, but there has 
been an endeavor to show the actual working of our 
national government, and to describe the same in a manner 
which can be comprehended by beginners. 

The second part of e the book is intended as a practical 
guide to the student upon important matters which are 
regulated by the local and State government. Other books 



PREFACE VII 

have been written with the same object in view, but have 
failed to some extent in their purpose, because they have 
not been limited to a consideration of the political institu- 
tions of a single State, or of a group of States having simi- 
lar governmental systems, but have treated these subjects 
in a general way only, carefully avoiding those details which 
constitute the distinguishing features of the government of 
particular States or localities. 

It is apparent that, owing to the difference between the 
constitutional and statutory provisions of the various States 
of the Union concerning the details of local government, 
all these different systems cannot be thoroughly treated 
within the limits of an elementary text-book, except in a 
general way. Hence, the most successful teachers of civics 
have been those who have been able to supplement the 
material contained in the text-book with information con- 
cerning the system of municipal and State government 
under which the pupils live. This book has been prepared 
for use in the schools of Illinois, and is limited in its dis- 
cussion of local governmental affairs to that State alone. 

It is possible that the order followed in the treatment of 
the various topics discussed may be the subject of criticism 
by those who believe that the study of local government 
should precede that of the State or Nation, and, conse- 
quently, that such should be the order of exposition. If the 
book had been written for the use of students in Massachu- 
setts, Virginia, or any other State whose local institutions 
were in existence before the formation of the Union, it 
would be correct, logically and historically, to begin with 
the study of the local system, and follow with the county, 
State and national institutions. The case is different, how- 
ever, when dealing with the government of Illinois, which 
owes its existence to acts of the Federal Government, and 



Viii FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT 

the development of whose local institutions did not con- 
tribute to the formation of the national system. 

For these reasons, it has seemed best to divide the sub- 
ject into two parts, one showing the origin and develop- 
ment of oar national government, and the other explaining 
the formation of our State government, giving due consid- 
eration to the local influences which shaped its structure, 
together with a brief but comprehensive statement of the 
various governmental agencies which have been created by 
the State. 

While it has been the purpose to make one chapter follow 
another in logical sequence, yet each topic is treated in a 
manner sufficiently independent to permit the use of the 
book as a guide in case it is desired to study the different 
forms of government in an order different from that fol- 
lowed in the text. 

If this volume proves to be of assistance to those who are 
eager to know the duties of citizenship, and a help to teach- 
ers in presenting to their pupils correct information as to 
the principles upon which our government is based, and the 
method in which they are applied in all departments, local, 
State and national, the author will feel that his labors have 
been amply rewarded. 

Chicago, May i, 1900. 



CONTENTS. 



PART I. 
Government of the United States. 

CHAPTER I. page. 

Origin and Necessity of Government, i 

How Governments Commenced — What Government Means 

— Laws and Their Objects — Early Forms of Government 

— Surrender of Personal Rights — The Family, Clan, and 
Tribe — Freedom — Development of Government. 

CHAPTER II. 

Different Forms of Government, 8 

Definition of Civil Government — Tribal Government — Ab- 
solute Monarchy — Oligarchy — Ancient Republics — Con- 
stitutional or Limited Monarchies — The Modern Republic 

— Government by Consent of the Governed — Popular 
Governments. 

CHAPTER III. 

Distinctive Features of Our Government, . . . .17 
General Application of the Principles of Popular Government 

— Government by Representation — Its Origin and Devel- 
opment — Public Office a Public Trust — Written Constitu- 
tions — Three Branches of Government, Legislative, 

Judicial, and Executive — Division of Powers between 
National, State, and Municipal Governments — Principles 
Embodied in the Declaration of Independence. 

CHAPTER IV. 

Colonial Governments, 28 

Government by Charter — Distinction between Charter and 
Constitution — Origin of Charter Government — Magna 
Charta — Royal Colonies — Charter Colonies — Proprietary 
Colonies — Political Status of the Colonies. 

(IX.) 



X FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER V. page. 

Formation of the American Union, 37 

Early Attempts at Union — The Albany Convention — 
Stamp Act Congress — Obnoxious Acts of Parliament — 
First Continental Congress — Second Continental Con- 
gress — The United Colonies — Articles of Confederation — 
Their Defects — Condition of the Country — The Constitu- 
tional Convention — Its Proceedings — Adoption of the 
Constitution — Madison's Journal — Ratification. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Outline of the Federal Government, 49 

The Preamble — Division of Governmental Powers — Legis- 
lative Powers — Congress — Senators and Representatives 

— Their Qualifications and Election — The Executive 
Power — President and Vice-President — Presidential Suc- 
cession — Election of President and Vice-President — The 
Electoral College — Duties of the Executive — The Judi- 
cial Department — Jurisdiction of United States Courts — 
Treason. 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Powers of Congress, 56 

Taxation — Different Kinds of Taxes — Borrowing Money — 
Regulation of Commerce — Interstate Commerce — Coin- 
ing Money — Different Kinds of Money — National Banks 

— Patents and Copyrights — Bankruptcy — Naturalization 

— Territorial Government — Madison's Classification of the 
Powers of Congress. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

The Executive Department, 69 

Scope of the Department — Powers and Duties of the Presi- 
dent — Commander - in - Chief — Opinions of Executive 
Officers — Pardons and Reprieves — Making Treaties — 
The Diplomatic Service — Presidential Appointments — 
Messages — Impeachment. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Branches of the Executive Department, . . . .78 

The President's Cabinet — Organization of the Departments 

— Appointing Power — Civil Service Law and Commis- 
sion — State Department — Treasury Department and Its 
Officers — War Department and Its Bureaus — United 
States Army — Navy — Interior — General Land Office — 
Pensions — Post Office — Justice — Agriculture — Weather 
Bureau — Labor — Fish Commission — Government Print- 
ing Office. 



CONTENTS xi 

CHAPTER X. page. 

The Federal Judiciary, 93 

Its History — The Judicial System Outlined — The Supreme 
Court — ' Its Jurisdiction and Organization — District 
Courts — Circuit Courts — Circuit Court of Appeals — 
Courts of District of Columbia — Territorial Courts — 
Court of Claims. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Amendments to the Constitution, 102 

Constitutional Provisions — Methods of Amending — First 
Ten Amendments — Bill of Rights — Eleventh Amend- 
ment — Chisholm vs. State of Georgia — Twelfth Amend- 
ment — Its History — Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fif- 
teenth Amendments and Reasons for Their Adoption. 

CHAPTER XII. 

Politics in a Democracy, no 

Definition of Politics — What is a Politician — Political Par- 
ties — Their Origin — Hamilton's Recommendations — Op- 
position to Them — Federalists and Republicans — Whigs 
and Democrats — Present Party Names — Committees — 
Nominating Conventions — Caucuses and Primaries. 



PART II. 
Government of Illinois. 

CHAPTER XIII. page. 

Early Government, 119 

Origin of Its Civil Institutions— French Settlements — Un- 
der English Rule — The Virginia Conquest — A Virginia 
County — Ordinance of 1787 — Government Under It — 
The Territory of Illinois — The Enabling Act — Its 
Acceptance — Character of the Population — The Struggle 
of Two Rival Political Systems. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

The New England Town, 127 

A Pure Democracy — Character of the Early Settlers of New 
England — Reasons Which Prompted Their Migration — 
Influence of the Church in Civil Matters — The Town 
Meeting — Selectmen — Other Officers — The Ancient 
Town of Boston — The Unit of Representation. 



xii FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER XV. page. 

The Old Virginia County, . .135 

Its English Origin — Early English Counties — Parishes and 
Their Officers — Social Conditions in Colonial Virginia — 
Vestry Meetings — Church Wardens and Clerks — The 
County as a Political Unit — The County Court — The 
Sheriff — Contrast between the New England and Virginia 
Systems. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Illinois Under the Constitutions of 181 8 and 1848, . . 143 
The Four Propositions of the Enabling Act — Their Influence 
on the Civil Institutions of the State — General Provisions 
of the Constitution of 181 8 — The County System Dominant 

— Beginnings of the Township System in Illinois — The 
Ordinance of 1785 — The Slavery Question — Constitution 

. of 1848 — All Difficulties Settled by Compromise. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

State Government of Illinois, 151 

Constitution of 1870 — General Statement of the Powers of 
the State — The Legislative Department — Senators and 
Representatives — Their Number — Qualifications and 
Election — Special Legislation — The Executive Depart- 
ment — Officers Composing It — The Governor and His 
Powers — Other Executive Officers — Secretary of State — 
Auditor — Treasurer — Attorney General — Judicial De- 
partment — Supreme Court — Appellate Courts — Circuit 
Courts — Superior Court of Cook County — Criminal Court 
of Cook County — County and Probate Courts. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

County Government in Illinois, 166 

County Government in General — The County, an Agency 
of the State — Constitutional Provisions — The County 
Board — Its Powers and Duties — Government of Cook 
County — Commissioners of Cook County — County Civil 
Service Commission — County Clerk — Sheriff — Treasurer 

— Coroner — Clerks of Courts — Recorder — State's At- 
torney — Justices of the Peace — Constables. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Township and Village Government, 180 

General Scope of Township Government — How Towns Are 
Created — Corporate Powers — The Town Meeting — 
Powers of the Town — Town Officers — Supervisor — Town 
Clerk — Auditors — Board of Health — Commi ssioners of 
Highways — Road Districts — Village Government — Or- 
ganization of Villages — Trustees — Their Powers 



CONTENTS xin 

CHAPTER XX. page. 

The Government of Cities, 189 

City Government in Early Days — Changes in Conditions of 
of City Life Since Colonial Times — Origin of Municipal 
Government — Guilds of the Middle Ages — City Charters 

— General Law of the State — Legislative Department — 
City Council — Number and Qualifications of Aldermen — 
Classification of Powers of the City Council — The Execu- 
tive Department — The Mayor — Clerk — Treasurer — Col- 
lector — Comptroller — Financial Department— Civil Service 
Commission — Departments and Their Officers — Public 
Works — Building — Law — House of Correction — Health 

— Police — Fire — Various Inspectors — School Depart- 
ment — Public Library — Parks and Boulevards — Sani- 
tary District of Chicago. 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Election Laws, 213 

General Discussion of the Right of Suffrage — Who Are 
Citizens — Distinction between Citizen and Voter — Gen- 
eral Election Law — Judges and Clerks of Election — Man- 
ner of Holding Elections — Certifying the Results — Reg- 
istration Law — Its General Provisions — Elections in 
Cities, Villages, and Incorporated Towns — Election Com- 
missioners — Registration of Voters — Registry Books — 
Verification Lists — Duties of Judges and Clerks — Hold- 
ing the Election — Counting the Vote — Returns of the 
Result — The Australian Ballot — Purpose of the Law Re- 
quiring Its Use — The Official Ticket — Method of Voting 

— Primaries. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Educational System, 233 

Necessity of General Education — Constitutional Provisions 

— General School Law — State Superintendent — County 
Superintendents — Township Trustees — Township Treas- 
urer — School Directors — Boards of Education — School 
Officers of Chicago — Teachers — Women as School 
Officers. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

Taxation and Eminent Domain, 246 

Importance of Questions of Taxation — Constitutional Pro- 
visions — Objects for which Taxes are Levied — The As- 
sessment — Assessors and Their Duties — Board of Review 

— Collection of Taxes — Town, District, and County Col- 
lectors — Delinquent Taxes — Eminent Domain — Com- 
pensation for Property Taken — How Ascertained. 



xiv FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENT 

CHAPTER XXIV. PA ge. 

Rights and Duties of Citizens, 256 

Personal and Political Rights — Personal Security — Right 
of Property — Personal Liberty — Habeas Corpus — Free- 
dom of Conscience — Freedom of Speech and of the Press — 
Protection from Unjust Laws — Ex Post Facto Laws — 
Attainders — Right of Suffrage — Holding Office — Duties 

— Obedience to the Law — Paying Taxes — Self Support 

— Taking Part in Public Affairs— Personal Responsibility. 

Appendix A — Constitution of the United States, . . . 267 

Appendix B — Enabling Act, 283 

Appendix C — Ordinance of Constitutional Convention, . .287 
Appendix D — Constitution of Illinois, 289 



PART I. 

Federal Government. 



CHAPTER I. 
ORIGIN AND NECESSITY OF GOVERNMENT. 

Probably the only man of whom we have any record, who 
did not feel the necessity of some form of government, was 
the children's friend, Robinson Crusoe, when he was alone 
upon his desert island before the advent of his savage vis- 
itors bringing with them the future companion of his exile. 
So it would be in all cases if men lived alone, separate and 
apart from their fellow-beings, and had no relations with 
them of a social, civil or commercial character. But such is 
not the nature of mankind. From the earliest time recorded 
in history, men have been accustomed to seek the compan- 
ionship of their fellow-beings, and from the moment that the 
association of human beings commences, the necessity for 
some form of government appears. i 

Government Defined. — Government may be defined as 
the control exercised by the supreme or sovereign power of 
the State over individuals for the benefit of all under its 
charge. This control is exercised by means of laws, and a 
law is defined by Sir William Blackstone as a rule of conduct 
commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong. 
The necessity for the existence of some supreme power in 
the State becomes apparent when we consider the results 
{which would follow from allowing each individual to do or 



2 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

refrain from doing exactly as he pleases, in such a case the 
weak would have no protection from the strong and the 
individual would have no assurance of being allowed to en- 
joy the fruits of his own labor. 

Hence for the common good of all, each individual has 
been obliged to yield to the supreme power of the state some 
of the rights and prerogatives which he would possess if in 
a condition of absolute freedom, and has been bound by 
civic regulations restraining and controlling to a certain 
extent the acts of his daily life. 

Government, then, implies control and restraint of the in- 
dividual, and it should therefore be noticed that as the exac- 
tions and requirements of government increase, to that 
extent the freedom of the individual is lost. The only ab- 
solutely free person must be one who lives solitary and apart 
from his fellow-beings, who owes them no duties and re- 
ceives from them no benefits, and who roams at will, ham- 
pered only by the necessity of supplying his own wants. 
Thus the position of an absolutely free man is but little better 
than that of the friendless exile upon the desert island, the 
savage inhabitant of unexplored regions, or the wild beast 
that wanders at large through the wilderness. The over- 
ruling providence, which directs the evolutions of the human 
race, never intended that man should live in a state of abso- 
lute and unrestricted freedom, and therefore instincts were 
planted in the human mind leading him to seek associations 
with his fellow-beings, thus rendering necessary the exist- 
ence of some form of government, varying in its details 
according to the condition of the people and their advance- 
ment in civilization. 

It follows that the best and most desirable form of gov- 
ernment is that which interferes least with the freedom of 
the individual, while at the same time possessing sufficient 



ORIGIN OF GOVERNMENT 3 

strength to protect its citizens in their life, liberty and prop- 
erty, to command and compel obedience and to administer 
uniform justice to individuals according to their rights and 
not according to their strength or the audacity of their de- 
mands. It will be found that as mankind has advanced in 
civilization the relations of individuals to each other have 
become more varied and complex, and the restraints im- 
posed by government more numerous. 

The Family. — The first and simplest form of govern- 
ment made necessary by the association of individuals was 
the family. With the formation of the family some portion 
of the freedom of the individual was lost and some restraint 
was placed upon his acts by reason of governmental control. 
The head and sovereign power of the family was the father, 
whose wishes all of the members were obliged to respect, 
and in return for their obedience they received his protection 
and support. As the family increased in age and numbers 
and children of the second and third generations appeared, 
the sovereign power remained vested in the head of the fam- 
ily, who would be the grandfather, or in the case of his death, 
his eldest son. 

The Clan. — In a few generations, by the growth of the 
original family and by its union with others, the ties of im- 
mediate relationship no longer bound the entire community, 
and the association of individuals became a group of fam- 
ilies, called a clan. The government of the family still con- 
tinued, but an additional and somewhat different power had 
of necessity been created, which exercised a control over 
the entire community for the common good of all. To pro- 
tect itself against the aggressions of other clans and compel 
its own members to perform their duties toward each other, 
it was found necessary to have some central authority whom 
all must obey and having the power to call upon all of the 



4 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

members of the clan to protect the individual in the enjoy- 
ment of his rights. The person selected for this important 
function was the head and leader of the clan and was called 
the chief or by some other term of equivalent meaning. It 
was his duty to prescribe the rules governing the clan in its 
intercourse with neighbors, to lead the clan in case of war, 
to take measures which would tend to keep his followers 
free from want, and to see that each of his subjects did his 
duty and observed the rights of his fellow-clansmen. 

By this association the individual lost some of his rights, 
but the benefits which he gained were greater than his 
losses, for he was no longer obliged to rely entirely upon 
his own efforts in guarding his flocks, in hunting the wild 
beasts, in erecting his dwelling, or in overcoming his ene- 
mies, but he had the support and assistance of his fellow- 
clansmen in these undertakings. For many centuries the 
only form of government known to mankind was that of the 
clan, which has been described briefly, and which answered 
all of the needs *of a simple people, leading a rude and bar- 
baric life. 

The Tribe. — Later, the same impulses and conditions 
being still at work, different clans coming in contact with 
each other, led to a union in various ways, sometimes 
by the intermarriage of children of the chieftains or of the 
subjects, sometimes by the necessity of making common 
cause against an enemy, and sometimes by the interchange 
of the products of such peaceful arts as the people possessed. 
The ordinary term used to designate such a union of clans 
is tribe, whose government was in general similar to that of 
the clan, but necessarily included many additional features 
as the mass of the people increased in numbers and the tribe 
grew in power. 

The tribe, while still leading a more or less nomadic life, 



ORIGIN OF GOVERNMENT 5 

began gradually to have fixed places of abode during cer- 
tain seasons of the year. This made it necessary for the 
chief to prescribe rules concerning the location and manner 
of constructing the rude huts in which the people lived. 
Man was not quite as free as he had been before, because he 
could not fix his dwelling place exactly where he pleased, 
but was compelled to respect the rights of others. If he 
coveted the horse or goat of his neighbor, he could not take 
the animal by virtue of superior strength, because such an 
infraction of private rights would not be tolerated. The 
man who was skillful in the chase was compelled to give some 
of the results of his labor to the artisan who manufactured 
his bow and arrows. Thus society became more complex, 
and the work of government became more diverse ; as man 
became more civilized, the reasons for the existence of a 
government became more numerous, and more and more of 
the daily acts of the individual came under its control. 

Freedom. — From what has been said we conclude that 
the word freedom, as used in the governmental sense, is a 
relative term only. It must not be confused with the term 
license. A free man, as the term is now used, is one who 
has certain well-defined personal rights, such as the right 
to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, subject to the 
restriction that he must recognize and respect the same 
rights existing in favor of his fellow T -men. A free man must 
not be understood to mean a man who can do exactly what 
he pleases, regardless of the rights of others, but simply as 
the citizen of a state having a free and independent govern- 
ment. A nation whose government recognizes and pro- 
tects the rights of all its members, and which is independent 
of all other nations, is called a free and independent nation. 

Governmental Development. — For many generations 
the only form of government which existed was the tribal 



6 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

form, but as men became more civilized they began to live 
in villages, towns and cities, and government began to as- 
sume new aspects and covered a wider range. The chief 
became a king and exercised greater powers. He had in 
his control the life, liberty and property of his subjects. His 
will was the only law of the land, and, while he sometimes 
found it convenient and even necessary to delegate some of 
his powers to others, still he could always revoke these 
powers at will and confer them upon others or exercise them 
himself. Such a form of government is now called an abso- 
lute monarchy or a despotism. 

It was the legitimate outgrowth of the eany tribal form of 
government, and, while men were rude and uncivilized, 
probably no better or different form could have been de- 
vised. The king ruled by virtue of his superior strength 
and intelligence, or by reason of his birth or in some cases 
by divine right as it was claimed, and the people obeyed be- 
cause they had not yet learned that they constituted the only 
source of the powers of the government, and that the gov- 
ernment had no just powers except such as it exercised with 
the full consent of the governed. 

It would be interesting to trace, step by step, the evolu- 
tion and growth of the various forms of government that 
have existed, commencing with the tribal, down through the 
different kinds of monarchies, oligarchies and republics of 
ancient and mediaeval times to the constitutional monarchies 
and republics, the most enlightened forms of government 
of our own times, and to show in detail how, as mankind 
advanced in civilization, the science of government has 
developed. For many centuries, governments have been 
changing and progressing in their forms and duties, from 
the time when men were simply roving hunters and herders 
of cattle until they became tillers of the soil and artisans with 



ORIGIN OF GOVERNMENT 7 

fixed places of abode, and until finally they came to engage 
in all of the different branches of commerce, manufactures 
and art which pertain to modern civilized life, but the his- 
tory of these changes and developments furnishes fields for 
study and investigation which must be pursued independ- 
ently. 



CHAPTER II. 
DIFFERENT FORMS OF GOVERNMENT. 

It has been shown already how the tribal form of govern- 
ment originated, and that it is the earliest form of govern- 
ment known to man. It is true that the clan preceded the 
tribe and the family preceded the clan, but family govern- 
ment, as it exists to-day, cannot properly be considered in 
a work of this kind. Our study will deal only with the gov- 
ernment which controls every citizen in common with his 
fellow-citizens with reference to public matters ; in other 
words, the civil government under which we live. 

In this chapter, attention will be directed to the various 
forms of civil government, both ancient and modern, that 
the difference between our own government and others may 
be more clearly understood. 

The Tribal Form of Government.— This form of gov- 
ernment still exists in some parts of the world, but it is 
to be found only among uncivilized and uneducated people. 
The American Indians, except in cases where they have 
adopted the habits of civilized life, still live under a tribal 
form of government, but a better illustration is to be found 
among the savage inhabitants of some parts of Asia and 
Africa and the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Little need be 
said concerning this form of government, as it has no writ- 
ten laws and the supreme power is vested in the chief. His 
authority is shown principally by his leadership in time of 
war and his selfish exactions in time of peace. No doubt 

(8) 



DIFFERENT FORMS OF GOVERNMENT 9 

the government of many tribes has been beneficial to the 
people composing them, in cases where the chief has been 
a man of unusual wisdom and actuated by benevolent mo- 
tives, but such instances have been few and governments of 
this kind now exist only among people so rude and barbaric 
that they are incapable of instituting any better system. A 
general knowledge of the tribal form of government is nec- 
essary principally to enable the student to comprehend more 
clearly the part which it has taken in the development of the 
science of government, and not because it will directly aid 
him in performing the duties of citizenship. 

It was the first step taken toward the construction of a 
civil system. It marked an era in the evolution and growth 
of governmental institutions. It fulfilled the purpose for 
which it was intended until it came to be replaced by more 
efficient systems. For this reason the tribal form of gov- 
ernment deserves a place in our study, and as we progress 
attention will be given to those features of our own system 
in the growth of which tribal government has played a part. 

The Absolute Monarchy. — This term designates the 
form of government in which the absolute power of making 
and enforcing laws controlling the liberty, property and wel- 
fare of the mass of the people is vested in the monarch, who 
is called by different names. He is called the Emperor in 
China, the Shah in Persia, the Sultan in Turkey, and the 
Czar in Russia, but, by whatever name he is known, he is 
the absolute ruler of his people. The government has no 
legislature chosen by the people to make laws for their own 
good, but the only laws consist of imperial decrees or edicts, 
which must be obeyed strictly or the severest punishment 
will follow. The laws are not enforced by officers chosen 
by the people, but by officers appointed directly or indi- 
rectly by the ruler, whose aims are to administer the law as 



10 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

the monarch dictates, regardless of reason or justice toward 
the individuals whose interests are at stake. 

Under .such a government a person who is accused of 
violation of the laws does not have the benefit of a full, fair 
and open trial, but his case is decided summarily by a magis- 
trate who has no object in view except to carry out the 
personal wishes of his ruler, or in many cases the offender 
is given no trial, but is hurried away to imprisonment, ban- 
ishment or death, without even knowing of what he is ac- 
cused. 

Such a form of government, no matter what may be the 
personal merits of the ruler, can exist only in countries 
where the people are kept in subjection by ignorance and 
superstition, and are made to believe that their ruler is right- 
fully entitled to everything which he sees fit to demand. 
With the spread of education and intelligence among the 
people, such a form of government is bound to lose its 
powers and be overthrown, to be replaced by some other 
system recognizing the rights of man and the equality of the 
individual before the law. 

The Oligarchy. — It sometimes happened in ancient 
times that the government of a people, instead of being 
committed to a single hereditary chief, was given to a num- 
ber of persons of equal power, constituting a governmental 
council having supreme control over the lives and property 
of the people. Such a form of government is called an 
oligarchy — that is to say, government by a few, according 
to the etymological meaning of the word. 

Such governments were generally of comparatively brief 
duration, because jealousies arose and ambitions were de- 
veloped among the persons composing the oligarchy and 
the strife thus engendered usually led to civil war and the 



DIFFERENT FORMS OF GOVERNMENT H 

overthrow of the government, resulting in the triumph of 
the strongest and a despotic form of government. 

Any government in which the civil power is vested in a 
limited number of persons, as in a republic where the right 
of suffrage is narrowly restricted, may properly be called an 
oligarchy, although the term, as originally used, is applied 
to such a form of government as at one time existed in 
Rome, in some of the states of Greece, and in Venice. 

The Ancient Republic. — The impression prevails 
with many that the republican form of government is of 
purely modern origin. But many centuries before this con- 
tinent was discovered, the people of Ancient Rome were 
accustomed to meet in their forum, or public meeting place, 
and there enact laws and perform all of the governmental 
functions. These meetings were called comitia. At a dif- 
ferent period, the Greeks carried on their government in 
similar public meetings, called ccclcsia, which were held out 
of doors in the agora, or market place, and at a later period 
many of the Anglo-Saxon tribes decided questions of peace 
and war, levied taxes and punished criminals at public meet- 
ings in which citizens took part. 

All of these governments were republics, because in them 
the source of power was recognized as existing in the body 
of the people. They were essentially different, however, 
from our own republic, because the rights of citizenship 
and property were restricted to particular classes of the 
population, and the equality of all individuals before the law 
was not recognized. 

The principles which lie at the foundation of our own re- 
public were unknown in Ancient Greece and Rome; these 
republics were, in fact, but little better than the form of 
government which has been described as an oligarchy. 



12 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

The Constitutional or Limited Monarchy. — The 

origin, development and growth of the constitutional or lim- 
ited monarchy, as it exists in the enlightened European 
nations of to-day, such as England, Holland, Norway and 
Sweden, has much in common with our own governmental 
history. Many political institutions which we highly prize, 
as the town meeting, and some features of representative 
government to be described hereafter, had their origin in 
the customs of the Teutonic tribes which formerly inhabited 
the shores of the North and Baltic seas, and the valley 
of the Elbe, and many of these institutions exist to-day in 
the monarchical governments just mentioned. 

To attempt to enumerate and discuss in this connection 
all of these points of resemblance between the constitutional 
monarchy of England and the government of our own re- 
public would interfere with the orderly arrangement of our 
work, and properly belongs to another branch of study ; but 
as our work progresses it will appear that in many respects 
Englishmen and Germans enjoy fully as great political free- 
dom as do the citizens of the United States of America, and 
that many of our most highly prized political institutions did 
not originate with us, but were brought across the seas by 
our ancestors to this land, where, by the general education 
of the people, they speedily received a wider application 
and more perfect development than conditions would permit 
in other countries. 

A limited or constitutional monarchy may be defined in 
general as a government whose chief ruler, whether he be 
called king or emperor, does not enjoy absolute power, 
because his rights and privileges are limited by restrictions 
placed upon them for the benefit of the people. These re- 
strictions exist in the form of laws which cannot be abro- 
gated by the ruler without a revolution ; they are so bene- 



DIFFERENT FORMS OF GOVERNMENT 13 

ficial and necessary to the welfare of all classes of society 
that their modification or annulment would never meet the 
approval of the people. The rights so secured to the people 
are constitutional — that is to say, they are inherent and can- 
not be taken away without the consent of the people. The 
constitutional monarchy naturally takes the place of the 
absolute form of government in those countries where the 
people have become so enlightened that they insist upon 
the right to make the laws under which they live. 

The constitutional monarchy is a link in governmental 
development between the absolute monarchy and the mod- 
ern republic. It has many features in common with the 
absolute monarchy. For instance, the sovereign holds his 
office for life, and upon his death is succeeded by his eldest 
son or daughter, or, in case he has none, by his next of kin 
in the order of succession. This right to rulership is called 
hereditary, because it exists by reason of the birth of the 
person who enjoys it, and descends from one generation to 
another. A change, or attempted change, in the order of 
succession has generally produced a revolution and has 
caused many of the bloodiest wars in history. 

The constitutional monarchy also has many features in 
common with our own republic — as, for instance, the power 
of taxation is exercised only by the representatives of the 
people and not according to the whim or caprice of the 
ruler, and the laws are enacted by chosen representatives of 
the people. 

The Modern Republic. — The last form of government 
to be noticed is the republican. It is the youngest in point 
of time, and it is the product of the highest intellectual de- 
velopment. In speaking of and defining the republican 
form of government, it must be understood that reference is 
had to our own republic alone, because the ancient republics 



14 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

were but little better than oligarchies, and other modern 
republics, such as France and the countries of South and 
Central America, have institutions essentially different from 
those of our own country. In fact, the only people who 
enjoy governmental rights and privileges very closely re- 
sembling our own are the Swiss. 

A republic may be defined as a nation in which the sover- 
eign power resides in the whole body of the people and is 
exercised by representatives chosen by them. The people 
are the source of all power, and no class is recognized as 
enjoying any exclusive privilege, but all have equal rights 
before the law. As characterized by President Lincoln, it 
is a government "of the people, for the people and by the 
people." 

The head of the government, called the President, does 
not hold his position by reason of his birth, as in mon- 
archies, but because he has been chosen by the whole body 
of the people. The laws which protect the people in their 
rights are made by men who have been selected by the 
people to do this work for them. It would be impossible 
for the people in even a single city to meet together to 
make laws for its government, as the meeting would be too 
large for purposes of deliberation : therefore the people 
choose representatives for the different sections of the coun- 
try, who, in the aggregate, exercise the power of the people 
to make the laws. In a republic the laws are applied to the 
transactions of daily life by courts and judges created and 
appointed in the manner which the people decide to be for 
the best interests of all, and not by judges in whose appoint- 
ment the people have had no voice, as is the case in most 
monarchical governments. 

The features which distinguish the republican form of 
government from all others are that all governmental pow- 



DIFFERENT FORMS OF GOVERNMENT 15 

ers emanate from the people, all taxes are levied, courts 
maintained, laws made, and every public institution put in 
operation by the representatives of the people, for the good 
of all the people and with their consent. A government 
has no just powers except such as it exercises with the con- 
sent of the governed. The difference between such a gov- 
ernment and an absolute monarchy or despotic form of 
government is so radical and apparent, that with a little 
reflection you can enumerate many of the points of differ- 
ence without further aid. 

Popular Government. — In concluding this chapter we 
are naturally led to consider the meaning of the term 
popular government, which is often used in describing the 
government of our own country, as well as that of other 
civilized nations. This is a general term, meaning govern- 
ment by the people, and may be applied properly to any 
government in which the people take part, either directly 
or through their representatives. 

The government of the United States and each of the 
States of the Union is a popular government, and the same 
is true to a greater or less extent of all of the modern repub- 
lics and of a limited monarchical form of government, like 
that of England. The extent to which the people may be 
allowed to participate in the functions of government must 
depend upon their education, intelligence and aptitude for 
political affairs. Consequently popular governments flour- 
ish in those countries where there is general diffusion of 
knowledge, and the inhabitants, by their education, experi- 
ence and training, are able to consider governmental ques- 
tions in an intelligent manner. 

Great advances are being made continually in the devel- 
opment of popular government, and in all of the Euro- 
pean countries, except the absolute monarchies, greater 



16 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

political powers have gradually been given to the people. 
But probably the theory of a popular government in the 
widest and fullest meaning of the term will never be fully 
realized except in the management of local affairs in com- 
paratively small communities. 



CHAPTER III. 
DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF OUR GOVERNMENT. 

Let us now consider some of those features of our own 
government which distinguish it from all others, the under- 
lying principles which are embodied in different ways in 
every branch of the civil government, all of which tend to 
make the government of the United States the most perfect 
example which has yet been produced of an enlightened 
form of popular government. The fact has already been 
noted that in the theory of our government the source of all 
power lies in the people who are governed, that the govern- 
ment derives all of its powers from their consent, and that 
all of the people, directly or indirectly, participate in the 
work of governing. 

This principle cannot be dwelt upon too much, because, 
unless it is fully understood and appreciated, we cannot 
comprehend our political institutions, and without a just 
comprehension of these institutions it is impossible to be a 
good citizen. It will at times be difficult to see how the 
plain, ordinary citizen, whose time is spent in attending to 
his business and providing for the wants of his family, takes 
part in the important functions of government, such as 
levying taxes, making laws and managing public institu- 
tions ; but such is the fact. 

It is apparent that in a small community, all properly 
qualified persons can and should have a direct participation 
in public matters, and the history of nations shows in many 

(17) 



18 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

cases that in the early days the people actually ruled, and 
all had a voice in the government. The difficulty has been 
that as nations grew in population and importance, it was 
no longer possible to carry on the work of government by 
a mass-meeting of the people, and consequently the people 
gradually lost their individual rights, until finally an abso- 
lute form of government was established. It has remained 
for the people of this great republic to evolve a scheme of 
government whereby the rights of the citizens have been 
preserved, and at the same time the nation has grown won- 
derfully in power and importance. 

Representative Government. — To our Anglo-Saxon 
ancestors we owe the discovery and application of a system 
which has been an effective instrumentality for enabling the 
people of this vast country to retain their individual rights 
and to take part effectively in administering the govern- 
ment. We ordinarily describe this system as government 
by representation, or representative government. By this 
device the community which has become large and pop- 
ulous is divided into districts, called by different names, 
each of which chooses by popular vote one or more persons 
to represent it in the government and to speak for the dis- 
trict in all governmental matters. 

Thus the several States composing the United States are 
represented in the national government by their senators 
and representatives in Congress, and in each of the States 
the law-making part of the government is conducted at the 
State capital by representatives chosen by the people resid- 
ing in the different sections of the State, and in the cities, 
towns, villages and school districts the same principle is 
applied. All of these arrangements will be shown in detail 
when we come to consider the different branches of the 
government under which we live, but for the present it is 



DISTINCTIVE FEATURES 19 

enough to remember that the people themselves carry on 
the government by means of representative assemblies. 

The Congress of the United States, the Legislatures of 
the various States, the City Councils of the different cities, 
all are representative assemblies, because they are composed 
of delegates elected by the people. 

History of Government by Representation. — The 
principle of government by representation came to us 
from England where it had been in use, more or less ex- 
tensively, since the earliest days of English history, but it 
cannot be said to have originated in England, as traces of 
such a system have been found in the fragmentary history 
of the Anglo-Saxon tribes, to whom reference has already 
been made as being the originators of some of our political 
institutions. 

Historians generally have recognized the Germanic origin 
of this institution, and that its introduction into England 
was due to its existence among the Anglo-Saxon tribes 
who invaded England during the fifth century. A distin- 
guished English historian, in describing the civil organiza- 
tion of these tribes, says : 

"But the peculiar shape which its civil organization 
assumed w T as determined by a principle familiar to the Ger- 
manic races and destined to exercise a vast influence on the 
future of mankind. This was the principle of representa- 
tion. The four or ten villagers who followed the reeve of 
each township to the general muster of the hundred were 
held to represent the whole body of the township from 
whence they came. Their voice was its voice, their doing 
its doing, their pledge its pledge.''* 

Therefore it is safe to say that from time immemorial the 
principle of government by representation has been familiar 

♦Green's History of the English People. Vol. L, Chap. I. 



20 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

to Englishmen, even before they came to live in their island 
kingdom, and while they inhabited their fatherland in 
Northern Germany and Denmark. For a time this system 
was applied only to the government of small communities, 
but, as the centuries rolled by, it received a wider applica- 
tion and finally became one of the chief factors in the 
administration of national affairs. 

We cannot undertake to trace the history of the develop- 
ment of representative government in England through the 
centuries which have passed since the Anglo-Saxon inva- 
sion, but one of its critical stages may be noticed with profit. 
During the thirteenth century there was a long struggle be- 
tween the King of England, who was seeking to retain 
absolute power, and the people, who were striving for 
greater political rights, under the leadership of Simon de 
Montfort, Earl of Leicester. In this struggle, called the 
Baron's War, which lasted for many years, the people finally 
triumphed, and in the year 1265 a Parliament was assem- 
bled, composed of representatives of all of the people. 

Comparatively little is known of this Parliament, except 
that it was the first example of the complete application of 
th£ principle of representation to the affairs of the whole 
nation. Thirty years later the work was completed and 
perfected by the assembling, during the reign of Edward I., 
of what is called in English history the Model Parliament. 

Then, to know fully the history of representative govern- 
ment, as it exists among the English-speaking people, it is 
necessary to commence with the German tribes who in 
ancient times inhabited the northern part of Europe, to 
follow them in their invasion of England, and to trace for 
many years the struggles with kings and nobles until the 
time of Edward I., and thence to the settlement of our own 
country in the early part of the seventeenth century. It is a 



DISTINCTIVE FEATURES 21 

long story, filled with tales of human suffering, war and 
bloodshed, which we little realize in our day, so accustomed 
have we become to the enjoyment of these privileges se- 
cured by the continued struggles of our ancestors for so 
many centuries. 

Public Office. — Another distinctive feature of our gov- 
ernment is suggested by the principle emphasized at the 
beginning of this chapter, that the "consent of the gov- 
erned" is the foundation of our system. Bearing this in 
mind, it naturally follows that we have no rulers in the 
governmental sense, for all of the officers of the govern- 
ment, from the President down to the humblest clerk of the 
rural village, are the agents of the people, chosen by them 
to do certain work and expected to carry out their wishes as 
expressed in laws enacted by the representatives of the 
people. 

It has frequently been said that "public office is a pub- 
lic trust." This is true, and means simply that the man 
who is chosen to hold a public office has intrusted to him by 
the people the performance of certain duties, and that he 
must at all times be prepared to give an account of his stew- 
ardship. If unfaithful, he is answerable to the people he 
has betrayed. Public officers are the servants, agents, 
clerks and treasurers, and not the masters of the people. 

Written Constitutions. — We come now to consider 
a feature of our government which is peculiarly and dis- 
tinctively American in its origin and development. It is 
known as the written constitution. The constitution is an 
important feature of all representative governments, whether 
the government be a limited monarchy, like that of Eng- 
land, or a republic, like the United States, and to thoroughly 
understand such a government we must know the meaning 
of the word "constitution" and all of its various applications. 



22 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

The constitution, as the term is used in this country, 
means a written document defining the powers of the gov- 
ernment, the terms and conditions of which furnish the test 
for determining whether or not the government is exceed- 
ing its powers in the performance of any specific act. It is 
often briefly defined as the supreme law of the land, the 
fundamental statute to which all other laws must conform. 
By this we mean that all other laws, whether enacted by 
Congress or any other legislative body, must comply with 
its provisions, and that any law which violates the constitu- 
tion in any respect is void and of no effect, or, as it is 
ordinarily termed, is unconstitutional. 

We may also regard the constitution as the instrument 
which sets forth in detail those rights which the people have 
surrendered to the general government for the common 
good, and the restrictions imposed upon the government in 
exercising these rights. It is the charter from the people 
to the government under which the government exists. 

The constitution of the United States is a written instru- 
ment, setting forth in detail what powers can be exercised 
by the general government, and the manner in which its 
functions must be performed. It, therefore, limits and de- 
fines the objects, purposes and management of the govern- 
ment, and expressly provides, in one of its amendments, 
that the powers not delegated to the United States by the 
constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved 
to the States respectively, or to the people, thereby affirming 
the doctrine that the fundamental source of power is the 
people, who may or may not delegate all of their powers to 
the government. 

What has been said concerning the Constitution of the 
United States is in a measure applicable to the constitutions 
of the respective States. Each of the States within its bor- 



DISTINCTIVE FEATURES 23 

ders has absolute control of the governmental machinery 
relating to the whole State. Leaving out of consideration 
local municipal affairs, all governmental powers which have 
not been committed to the federal government through the 
medium of the Constitution of the United States are exer- 
cised by the State government. It naturally follows that 
the constitution of a State will more intimately concern the 
private life and the daily acts of the citizens than the Con- 
stitution of the United States, because by far a greater 
number of matters are under the control of the State gov- 
ernment than the national government. 

Branches of Government. — Another characteristic 
feature of our government under the constitution is the care 
with which the various departments of the government are 
separated, so that each will constitute a check upon the 
other. These constitutional provisions are peculiar to our 
government and are not to be found in England or other 
countries under a constitutional form of government. The 
functions performed by a government are divided into three 
classes, the legislative, executive and judicial.- 

The legislative, or law-making, department lies at the 
foundation of the government. As a government exercises 
its control over its citizens by means of laws, it is apparent 
that the law-making power is the first to be considered in 
any scheme of government, and that the right to make laws 
is one of the indispensable attributes of sovereign power. 

The judicial department in a constitutional government 
exists for the purpose of interpreting the laws and applying 
them to the transactions of daily life. It exercises an impor- 
tant check upon the legislative department, because it deter- 
mines whether or not any of the laws enacted by the legisla- 
ture are in violation of the constitution, and, for that reason, 
void. 



24 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

The executive department executes the laws. This may 
be done by providing the proper machinery for carrying 
into effect the declarations of the legislature without the 
intervention of any court, or by carrying out the decisions 
of a court as to the effect of the laws upon a given transac- 
tion. 

Different Governments Under Which We Live. — 
We shall now consider briefly the triple character of the 
government under which every citizen of the United States 
lives, and show that he owes allegiance to three dif- 
ferent governments — namely, the national government, 
the State government and the local or municipal govern- 
ment of the city, town or village in which he has his home. 
And herein we find a governmental arrangement peculiar to 
our own country, to which we may point with pride, because 
by means of it we have been able to become one of the great 
nations of the earth and at the same time have left with 
the people unimpaired the right of local self-government. 

This great result has been accomplished through the me- 
dium of written constitutions, by which the people have 
delegated to these different governments the only powers 
which they can rightfully exercise. Thus the Constitution 
of the United States sets forth in detail those powers which 
are to be exercised and the duties which are to be per- 
formed by the Federal Government, which has no right 
whatever to exceed the limits imposed by the constitution. 
These powers are of such a character that they could not 
well be exercised by each individual State ; because relating, 
as they do, to the welfare of the entire country, they must 
be exercised in a uniform manner throughout the entire 
territory. 

The Federal Government, among other things, has power 
to regulate our intercourse with foreign nations, to pro- 



DISTINCTIVE FEATURES 25 

vide for the support of the army and navy, to establish 
and maintain a postal system, to coin money and issue 
bills and notes which circulate as money, and to fix the 
terms and conditions under which people born in other 
countries may become citizens of the United States. It is 
apparent that powers such as these must be exercised by 
some central authority that can enforce obedience in all 
parts of the land, and for this reason the government of the 
United States as a nation was established. 

The next government to which every citizen owes respect 
and obedience is that of the State in which he lives. The 
powers and prerogatives of the state governments are much 
more numerous than those of the national government. 
The only limitations placed by the Constitution of the 
United States upon the power of a state government are that 
it shall not exercise any of the powers which have been 
given exclusively to the United States, and shall not do cer- 
tain other things expressly forbidden, which no State would 
probably ever wish to do, as coining money, granting titles 
of nobility or passing any law impairing the obligation of 
contracts. With these few restrictions, every governmental 
action is within the power of the State, subject only to such 
conditions as may be imposed by the people through the 
provisions of the State constitution. 

The third government to which every citizen is subject is 
the municipal government of the village or city in which he 
lives. All city governments derive their powers from the 
legislature of the State in which they are situated and can 
exercise no power or authority except such as is granted 
by the act of the legislature creating the city government. 
These powers are numerous and intimately connected with 
the daily life of the citizen. The city government is the 
agency provided by the State for enabling the inhabitants of 



26 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

a city to regulate their own local affairs, as the control of 
streets and sidewalks, the construction of buildings, the 
supplying of water, and numerous systems tending to pro- 
mote the health and welfare of the citizens in their daily 
life. 

In this way the magnificent fabric of our government has 
been created. It is a marvel of political ingenuity, because 
it is the only government which has solved the problem of 
preserving the right of the people to regulate local affairs 
and has constructed a powerful nation out of independent 
self-governing elements. 

The Declaration of Independence. — When our fore- 
fathers determined to form an independent government for 
the benefit of the people of this country, they wisely deter- 
mined to state definitely their ideas as to what such a gov- 
ernment should be and the reasons for their action in a 
document signed by the representatives of the people, so 
that all who perused it could understand the motives which 
prompted their action. 

This document was the Declaration of Independence. It 
is a model of brevity and logical reasoning, and embodies in 
its few lines the results of profound knowledge of the science 
of government. If thoroughly analyzed and comprehended 
it will be found to contain a complete statement of the 
objects for which governments exist, and in its arraignment 
of the king of Great Britain there is a protest against nearly 
every form of governmental abuse. Its statements of the 
principles of our government cannot be excelled and we 
cannot too often recur to its study, for in it we find litera- 
ture of the greatest merit, political science never excelled 
and governmental philosophy whose soundness cannot be 
questioned. 

The principles which are maintained by our government 



DISTINCTIVE FEATURES 27 

are the equality of all men in the eyes of the law, the right 
of the individual to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, 
the consent of the governed as the foundation of all govern- 
mental power and the unquestioned right of the people to 
alter and change the form of government as they may see fit. 
There are some who profess to regard these doctrines as 
old-fashioned, antiquated generalities, but these cannot be 
considered intelligent and patriotic citizens of the republic. 
The principles embodied in the Declaration of Independ- 
ence have been, and still are, the hope of humanity, and to 
insure their perpetuation the greatest intelligence and 
watchfulness is required of every citizen. 



CHAPTER IV. 
COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS 

It would be tedious to enumerate in detail the changes 
and alterations which took place in the government of the 
different colonies during the one hundred and fifty years, 
which intervened between the first settlement of our country 
and the Revolutionary War. Therefore we shall consider 
only the forms of government which prevailed in the colo- 
nies at a period just prior to the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, because the governments of the various States have 
been the direct outgrowth of the colonial governments as 
they existed at that period, but slight changes, compara- 
tively speaking, being needed in the case of the thirteen 
original colonies in order to adapt their governments to the 
necessities of a sovereign state. 

The colonies had no written constitutions, in the sense 
in which the term has been heretofore explained, but each 
of them had fundamental written laws which took the place 
of a constitution. These laws were to be found in the 
charter or grant of power from the King of England to the 
colony, in the commission of the governor issued to him by 
the King, and in the various instructions from the British 
Crown and colonial offices to the officers of the colony. 

The Charter. — In the history of the government of the 
British colonies in this country, the charter has almost as 
important a place as the constitution occupies in the gov- 
ernment of the present day. A charter is defined as a grant 

(28) 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS 29 

made by the sovereign, either to the whole people or to a 
portion of them, securing to them the enjoyment of certain 
political rights. In many of the colonies the charter was 
the fundamental law, but it was unlike a constitution, be- 
cause a constitution is a fundamental law established by the 
people themselves, while the charter emanated from the 
sovereign, who was the King of England. 

The term charter, as denoting a concession or grant of 
political rights from the ruler, came into use during the 
Middle Ages, when all governments were absolute in form. 
In those days the cities of Europe were the centers of edu- 
cation, art and refinement, and in many cases the people 
made such progress in wealth and civilization that they no 
longer w r ere willing to submit to the exactions of an arbi- 
trary government, and sought to obtain from their rulers 
moderate political privileges, enabling them to exercise in 
sonle degree the right of local self-government. 

The written document by which the sovereign granted 
political rights in such cases as these was called a charter. 
Sometimes such a charter was obtained only after a long 
struggle involving war and bloodshed, and sometimes it was 
obtained by a cash payment to the ruler, and sometimes, 
when the ruler w r as a man of unusual intelligence, the rights 
were freely granted when deserved, the only consideration 
demanded being the continued loyalty of the people. 

Magna Charta. — In English history, for many years 
the term charter was understood to refer to one document 
alone, known as Magna Charta, or The Great Charter. This 
document, which has almost as prominent a place in the 
political history of the United States as in that of England, 
was a grant of political rights, which King John of England 
was compelled to give to his people on the 15th day of June 
in the year 1215. This date should be remembered, for on 



30 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

that day many of the rights which are now secured to us 
by our own laws were for the first time embodied in a 
permanent written form for the benefit of the people then 
living and of future generations. 

Space will not permit us to tell the intensely interesting 
story of the long struggle between King John and his peo- 
ple which culminated in the granting of this famous char- 
ter, nor to relate the abuses which it corrected, and which, 
abandoned for so many years, can interest us now only as 
matters of curiosity and historical study. The importance 
of the document in those ancient times is best shown by the 
following words of the great English historian, which are 
just as significant to Americans as to Englishmen : 

"Copies of it were made and sent for preservation to the 
cathedrals and churches, and one copy may still be seen in 
the British Museum, injured by age and fire, but with the 
royal seal still hanging from the brown, shriveled parch- 
ment. It is impossible to gaze without reverence on the 
earliest monument of English freedom, which we can see 
with our own eyes and touch with our own hands, the Great 
Charter, to which, from age to age, men have looked back 
as the groundwork of English liberty. "* 

And so, following the course of English history from 
century to century, we find that as often as the burdens of 
the people became unbearable, so often matters came to a 
crisis, and little by little the rights of the people increased 
and the absolute powers of the kings diminished ; but we are 
now concerned with the affairs of our own country alone, 
and these allusions to English political history are made 
only for the purpose of showing the long and steady growth 
and development of the cause of popular government, com- 
mencing with the meager concessions wrung by force from 
♦Green's History of the English People. 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS 31 

unwilling monarchs in the Middle Ages and culminating in 
the magnificent framework of our own government. 

Colonial Grants. — In the seventeenth century, for the 
purpose of developing the natural resources of the North 
American colonies and thereby increasing the wealth, power 
and glory of his own kingdom, the King of Great Britain 
granted to some of his subjects charters authorizing them 
to fish, hunt and trade, to make settlements and occupy land 
on this continent. These charters granted to trading com- 
panies were the first fundamental laws which existed in this 
land, but later when the colonies had grown in population 
and wealth to such an extent that other governmental 
machinery was needed, more complete charters were 
granted in some cases, and in others a royal governor was 
appointed, who had the right to exercise such powers of 
government as might be included in the commission of the 
king appointing him. 

We shall not attempt to study all of the different forms 
of government which existed at different times in the 
colonies, leaving that to be taken up in connection with your 
historical studies, where the subject properly belongs ; but 
we should know something of these governments as they 
existed just prior to the Revolutionary War, in order to 
understand how dependent colonies were transformed into 
sovereign states.* 

At this time the colonies, so far as their form of govern- 
ment is concerned, may be divided into three classes. 

I. Royal Colonies. — This class includes the colonies 
of Virginia, Georgia, New Hampshire, New York, New 
Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina. The govern- 
ment of these colonies was controlled almost entirely by 



* An excellent account of the colonial governments may be found in Mar- 
tin's Text Book of Civil Government. 



32 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

England. The colony had no written constitution preserv- 
ing and protecting the rights of the people, but the funda- 
mental law which controlled their government was to be 
found in the instructions given their governor by the En- 
glish Crown. They had a governor who was the chief 
executive officer, and a council appointed by the King to 
assist him in performing his duties. 

The governor had the power of calling a legislative as- 
sembly for the colony, composed of representatives of the 
different sections, but no laws could be framed which were 
in any way repugnant to the English government. The 
governor also had a control over the acts of the legislative 
assembly, because if the assembly disregarded his wishes 
and persisted in enacting laws which did not meet with his 
approval, he could veto these laws and dissolve the legisla- 
tive assembly whenever he saw fit. With the advice of his 
council he could appoint judges, create courts and perform 
many other functions of an absolute ruler. From this brief 
statement, it will be seen that the government in the colo- 
nies above mentioned had few of the distinguishing charac- 
teristics of a government by the people. 

2. Charter Colonies. — While these colonies had no 
written constitution, they had a fundamental law which was 
to be found in the charter or grant of power from the king. 
This charter was in effect a constitution, because it gave to 
the people of the colony certain rights of self-government. 
Any attempt on the part of the English government to annul 
these charters, or in any way to modify the protection which 
they afforded to the people, always caused trouble, and to 
the frequent recurrence of these attempts may be traced the 
causes which led to the Revolutionary War. 

The charter colonies were three in number — Massachu- 
setts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Of these three, the 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS 33 

charters of Rhode Island and Connecticut were most 
favorable to the cause of popular government in the colo- 
nies. Rhode Island and Connecticut were pure republics 
and both branches of the legislative assembly were elected 
by the people. In fact, so satisfactory were the charters to 
the people of these two colonies that the charter of Con- 
necticut remained as its only constitution until the year 
1818, and in Rhode Island no other constitution was 
adopted until the year 1842. 

The charter of Massachusetts vested the executive branch 
of the government in the governor, who was appointed by 
the English government. The legislative branch consisted 
of an assembly of two houses, the lower house being com- 
posed of representatives chosen by the people. The House 
of Representatives, or the lower house of the legislative 
assembly, had the power of electing the upper branch of the 
assembly, which was known as the Governor's Council. 
Such elections were subject, however, to the veto of the 
governor. Thus, while the colonial government of Massa- 
chusetts was much more liberal and democratic than the 
government of the Royal Provinces, still it was not to be 
compared in this respect with the charters of Rhode Island 
and Connecticut. 

3. Proprietary Colonies. — These colonies were three 
in number — Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. They 
were called proprietary colonies because they originated in 
a grant of land from the King of Great Britain to an indi- 
vidual who was, by the terms of his grant, vested with the 
full power of framing and exercising a form of government 
over the territory under his jurisdiction. In these colonies 
the governor was appointed by the proprietary lord, but in 
some cases the proprietary himself acted as the governor. 

In Maryland, under the terms of the grant from the King 



34 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

of Great Britain, the office of proprietary was hereditary in 
the Calvert family. The government in this and other pro- 
prietary colonies was not unlike that of a limited mon- 
archy. The people had no voice in the appointment of a 
governor, but did have the right to elect a legislative assem- 
bly to enact the laws for the government of the colony. 

Pennsylvania and Delaware were separate colonies and 
had separate legislative assemblies, but they originated in 
the grant from the King of Great Britain to William Penn, 
who was the proprietary and in whose descendants the pro- 
prietorship vested, the same as in the case of the Calvert 
family in Maryland. 

The transition from the colonial forms of government to 
the government of a State was easy. In the case of Con- 
necticut and Rhode Island, no change was necessary until 
many years after the independence of the United States, 
when the altered conditions due to the progress of the 
people in the nineteenth century made the former govern- 
ment antiquated and unsuitable. In Massachusetts only 
slight changes were necessary, such as providing for the 
election of a governor arid both branches of the legislative 
assembly by the people and the removal of the name of the 
King of Great Britain from all legal documents and substi- 
tuting, in lieu thereof, the name of the People of the State 
of Massachusetts. In the Royal Provinces the changes 
were more numerous, as the people in these colonies, by 
appropriate legislation, wiped out of existence all vestiges 
of royal authority, and enacted laws giving to themselves 
such rights as had formerly been granted by the King of 
Great Britain to the people of Rhode Island and Con- 
necticut. 

Political Status of the Colonies. — In this way the 
State governments of the thirteen original States were 



COLONIAL GOVERNMENTS 35 

framed, and the same model has been used in providing a 
government for the new States upon their admission into 
the Union. The political status of the colonies, at the time 
of the Revolutionary War and of the respective States of 
the Union after the federal government was formed, has 
been the subject of much discussion among writers upon 
historical and political subjects. This subject has been ad- 
mirably treated by Mr. Justice Story in so brief and force- 
ful a manner that we cannot do better than adopt his words 
as a guide : 

"Though the colonies had a common origin and owed a 
common allegiance, and the inhabitants of each were British 
subjects, they had no direct political connection with each 
other. Each was independent of all others ; each, in a lim- 
ited sense, was sovereign within its own territory. There 
was neither alliance nor confederacy between them. The 
assembly of one province could not make laws for another, 
nor confer privileges which were to be enjoyed or exercised 
in another, further than they could be in any independent 
foreign state. As colonies they were also excluded from 
all connections with foreign states. They were known only 
as dependencies ; and they followed the fate of the parent 
country, both in peace and in war, without having assigned 
to them, in the intercourse or diplomacy of nations, any dis- 
tinct or independent existence. They did not possess the 
power of forming any league or treaty among themselves 
which should acquire an obligatory force without the assent 
of the parent state. 

"But, although the colonies were independent of each other 
in respect to their domestic concerns, they were not wholly 
alien to each other. On the contrary, they were fellow- 
subjects, and for many purposes one people. Every col- 
onist had a right to inhabit, if he pleased, in any other 



36 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 






colony; and, as a British subject, he was capable of inherit- 
ing lands by descent in every other colony. The commercial 
intercourse of the colonies, too, was regulated by the gen- 
eral laws of the British Empire, and could not be restrained 
or obstructed by colonial legislation/'* 

Such was the condition of the colonies in the year 1775. 
But when the final struggle with the parent country com- 
menced, the necessity for some sort of union among the 
colonies was more apparent than ever, because it would 
have been impossible for thirteen small states to success- 
fully prosecute a war against the most powerful nation of 
Europe without combining their resources and presenting 
a united front to the common enemy. For this purpose 
temporary expedients were adopted, probably the best that 
could have been devised under the circumstances, but, as 
experience proved, wholly insufficient to regulate the affairs 
of a great nation. 

Consequently, during the period from 1775 to 1789, when 
the present constitution was adopted, the government of the 
United States, except as to the local affairs of each colony, 
was unsettled to such an extent that many statesmen de- 
spaired of ever being able to form a successful national 
government. 

♦Story's Commentaries on the Constitution. 



CHAPTER V. 
FORMATION OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 

The fifteen years which intervened between the meeting 
of the First Continental Congress, in 1774, and the begin- 
ning of government under our present constitution, were 
probably the most critical for the cause of popular govern- 
ment that have ever passed. During these years, the coun- 
try's future was often imperiled, not only by the successes 
of the British army, in the earlier stages of the Revolution- 
ary War, but at all times by the inefficiency of our own 
central government, and later, after our arms had been vic- 
torious and the power of England had been banished from 
our shores, by the petty jealousy, suspicion and rivalry 
which prevailed among the respective colonies. 

Prior to the year 1774 there had been no permanent union 
of the colonies, but each had been careful to preserve its 
political identity. Such attempts as had been made toward 
effecting a union had been viewed with distrust by the col- 
onists and regarded with disfavor by England. During the 
seventeenth century, between the years 1643 aR d 1683, there 
had been a defensive alliance between the New England 
colonies for the purpose of protecting their settlements from 
the attacks of hostile Indians, but this union did not con- 
template or include within its scope any plan for the govern- 
ment of all the colonies by a central authority. 

Albany Convention. — From time to time the political 
thinkers of the colonies discussed the feasibility of union, 

(37) 



38 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

and in 1754 Benjamin Franklin and others were instru- 
mental in assembling a meeting of representatives from 
many of the colonies, known as the Albany Convention. At 
this convention a scheme for the union of the colonies was 
presented, but nothing came of the movement, for the plan 
was not received with favor, either by the inhabitants of the 
colonies or by the English government. 

Stamp Act Congress. — The necessity for union had 
not yet appeared, and it needed the oppression of England 
to arouse in the colonists the spirit of independence. The 
attempted enforcement of the Stamp Act aroused such in- 
dignation that, in 1765, delegates from eight of the colonies 
met and protested against the obnoxious law. This assem- 
bly was known as the Stamp Act Congress. It had no 
legislative powers and did not attempt to exercise any 
authority over the colonies ; but by its meeting the people 
of the country became, to some extent, imbued with the idea 
of uniting for the purpose of resisting the aggressions of the 
English government, and its protest was effectual in causing 
the repeal of the Stamp Act. 

Oppressive Laws. — Notwithstanding these evidences 
of the temper of the colonies and their determination to 
resist all laws which did not recognize their rights as British 
subjects to the same extent as if they had been actual resi- 
dents of England, the English government persisted in 
enacting legislation having for its object the imposition of 
taxes upon the colonists and restraining them from pursu- 
ing a free and untrammeled course in their commercial 
affairs. 

Among these laws which the colonies regarded as oppres- 
sive may be mentioned the Townshend Acts, three in 
number, one requiring the legislature of New York to pro- 



FORMATION OF THE UNION 39 

vide for the support of the English troops quartered in that 
colony, another establishing a Commission of Customs at 
Boston to enforce the collection of taxes and to regulate 
trade, and another placing a tax on glass, paint, paper, tea 
and other articles. 

While these taxes were not burdensome in amount, nev- 
ertheless they aroused the most bitter opposition on the 
part of the colonists, because the attempt of the British 
government to levy and collect them violated a fundamental 
principle of representative government, the colonies believ- 
ing that they had the legal right to resist the payment of 
any tax which was not levied with their full consent and 
concurrence. In other words, the colonists, not being rep- 
resented in the English Parliament, contended that body 
had no right to impose taxes of any kind upon them ; 
hence they boldly asserted the doctrine fundamental in all 
popular governments, that taxation without representation 
is unlawful. 

First Continental Congress.— It is not our purpose 
to write a history of these troublous times between 1765 
and 1774, and therefore we shall only enumerate certain 
laws enacted by the British Parliament which the colonists 
regarded as oppressive, and which led to the meeting of the 
First Continental Congress in the month of September, 
1774, and shall leave the story of these transactions to be 
learned in connection with your historical studies or to be 
the subject of supplementary reading. 

The laws to which reference has been made were the 
Boston Port Bill, virtually closing the port of Boston to 
commerce ; the Transportation Bill, whereby in certain cases 
persons accused of murder in resisting the laws might be 
sent to England for trial ; the Massachusetts Bill, an attempt 
on the part of England to modify the charter of Massachu- 



40 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

setts ; the Quartering Act, providing for the quartering of 
British soldiers upon the people ; and the Quebec Act, de- 
priving the colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vir- 
ginia of the vast Northwestern Territory claimed by them 
between the great lakes and the Ohio and Mississippi riv- 
ers, and annexing the same to the Province of Quebec. 

The indignation aroused by the passage and attempted 
enforcement of these laws was such that, under the lead of 
Massachusetts and Virginia, a body composed of delegates 
from all of the thirteen colonies, except Georgia, assembled 
in Philadelphia to take such action as might be deemed 
necessary to obtain a redress of their grievances. This as- 
sembly is known in history as the First Continental Con- 
gress. It remained in session in Carpenter's Hall in Phila- 
delphia from September 5, 1774, to October 26, 1774. 

In these sessions the congress, on behalf of the people of 
the colonies, adopted a Bill of Rights* and formulated ad- 
dresses to the people of the colonies and to the king and 
people of Great Britain, for the purpose, as it was hoped, of 
bringing about a better understanding between the parties 
to the controversy, and thus avoiding further conflict. It i9 
to be noticed that at this time the people of the colonies were 
still loyal to England and had no thought of becoming an 
independent nation, but sought only to obtain what they 
conceived to be their rights as Englishmen. The acts of 
the First Continental Congress are important in the polit- 
ical history of our country because, by its proceedings, the 
sentiment in favor of union between the colonies was 
strengthened and developed, and at that time general laws 
were first enacted commanding the respect and obedience 
of the entire country, and, being ratified and approved by 

♦For an explanation of thi§ term see page 103. 



FORMATION OF THE UNION 41 

the respective colonies, they had all the dignity of national 
laws. 

Second Continental Congress. — The Second Conti- 
nental Congress met at Philadelphia in May, 1775. At this 
time the battles of Lexington and Concord had taken place 
and the authority of Congress was recognized as the su- 
preme power of the land. Congress at once assumed man- 
agement of the continental army, raised money for prose- 
cuting the war with England, and, on behalf of the united 
colonies, entered into negotiations with foreign countries. 
The exercise of such powers as these is one of the attributes 
of sovereignty, and, with the creation of a central govern- 
ment representing the entire country, the history of the 
American Union commences. 

The Continental Congress has been called a revolution- 
ary body, because there was no legal authority for its exist- 
ence. Its organization was the spontaneous act of the 
people, caused by the pressing necessity for some central 
government. It assumed to act with an authority which it 
did not really possess, because no powers had ever been 
conferred upon it expressly by the people, and its existence 
was due solely to the necessity of meeting the crisis occa- 
sioned by the war with England. 

The most of its acts had the effect of general laws, as they 
met with the consent and approval of the people ; otherwise 
Congress would have been powerless to enforce its own 
commands. 

Need of a Central Government. — Such a govern- 
ment as this could not be otherwise than inefficient and 
unsatisfactory, and with the Declaration of Independence, 
the need of a stronger central government was more ap- 
parent than ever, for then the united colonies assumed a 



42 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

place among the sovereign, independent nations of the 
world and required a government having at least power to 
enforce the obedience of its own citizens. 

The problem of framing such a government was difficult 
under the conditions which then existed. Community of 
race and language, similarity of political institutions, com- 
mon interest and common dangers, all impelled the colonies 
toward a strong federal union, but, on the other hand, the 
spirit of distrust and jealousy, the fear that the larger colo- 
nies would absorb the smaller and the feeling of local pride 
on the part of the different colonies tended to keep them 
apart. 

Articles of Confederation. — Accordingly, in the year 
1777, the Articles of Confederation were prepared and sub- 
mitted to the people of the colonies for approval. This 
approval was necessary, because the principle that the pow- 
ers of the government could only be exercised with the 
consent of the governed had been enunciated by the Dec- 
laration of Independence. The object of the Confederation 
was stated to be the formation of a "league of friendship" 
between the States "for their common defense and the 
security of their liberties and their mutual and general wel- 
fare." The Articles of Confederation were finally adopted 
in the year 1781, when the war with Great Britain had prac- 
tically ceased; but government under them was a failure, 
because their plan, while contemplating the creation of a 
national government, still did not deprive the states of their 
sovereign powers and left them undisturbed in the exercise 
of powers inconsistent with the theory of a strong central 
government. 

For example, it is impossible for any government to 
exist unless it has the power of raising money with which 
to meet its obligations. This must be done by taxation, 



FORMATION OF THE UNION 43 

which is simply a method of taking a certain amount of 
the private property of citizens and applying the same to 
the payment of the expenses of the government incurred for 
the common good of all. 

Under the "league of friendship'' the expenses of gov- 
ernment were to be paid out of the common treasury, 
supplied by the States in proportion to the value of all 
land within each State, but the taxes for paying that pro- 
portion were to be levied by the legislatures of the several 
States. Consequently, no matter how seriously Congress 
might need money, it could obtain none unless the States 
carried out their compact and levied the necessary taxes, 
a thing which they generally failed to do. Hence, at the 
very outset, we find the national government absolutely 
without the power of taxation, probably the most necessary 
and fundamental prerogative for any government to possess. 

Another of the inseparable attributes of sovereignty is 
the power to make treaties with foreign nations for the pur- 
pose of regulating trade between the countries. Under the 
Articles of Confederation, Congress had no such power, and 
consequently Spain and Great Britain refused to make any 
commercial treaties with the new government, and, in ad- 
dition, did all they could to hamper the commerce of the 
States by exacting burdensome taxes upon imported goods 
and by other restrictions upon trade. This condition of 
things imposed great hardship upon the people of this coun- 
try, because they were neither able to purchase abroad many 
articles of necessity not manufactured here, nor could they 
dispose of their own agricultural products, which consti- 
tuted their chief wealth. 

A short experience with the scheme of government fur- 
nished by the Articles of Confederation served to show that 
numerous amendments were required to promote the effi- 



44 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

ciency of the government, and that without such amend- 
ments the union of the States, instead of being perpetual, 
as the Articles had planned, was in constant danger of com- 
plete disruption. When this conclusion was reached an- 
other glaring defect was found, in that it was provided by 
these Articles that no amendment could be made unless 
agreed to in a congress and afterward confirmed by the 
legislatures of all the States, thus rendering it extremely 
difficult, if not in many cases absolutely impossible, to se- 
cure any alteration in the governmental system. 

The Critical Period. — Many other defects in the 
Articles of Confederation might be mentioned, but these 
few will serve to show how imperfect was the system. 
After the close of the Revolutionary War, and from 1781 
to 1789, the condition of the country was deplorable. This 
has been called "the critical period of American history, " 
because then the chances for the success of popular gov- 
ernment in this country were about evenly balanced. It 
w r as, indeed, "a time that tried men's souls/' as had been 
said of the Revolutionary period. 

The close of the war had left the country burdened with 
a large debt, on which Congress could not pay the interest, 
because it had no money and no means of getting any. 
States often refused to pay their due proportion into the 
public treasury. Open rebellion existed in some parts of 
the country and Congress was powerless to enforce order. 
No gold was in circulation and paper money had been 
issued by the States and by Congress to such an extent as 
to depreciate its value and render it worthless. Commerce 
was at a standstill and the entire country was bankrupt. 
Thoughtful people feared a state of anarchy would soon 
prevail and the disruption of the Federal Union would fol- 
low, some even believing that England would again conquer 



FORMATION OF THE UNION 45 

the country, for the king's troops were still quartered in the 
military posts along the northern frontier.* 

The Constitutional Convention. — Under such cir- 
cumstances as these the necessity for a stronger central 
government became imperative, but the result was not 
easy to accomplish. More than one attempt was made 
and failed, but finally a convention composed of delegates 
from all of the colonies, except Rhode Island, was assem- 
bled in Philadelphia on the 14th day of May, 1787. This 
convention continued in session for four months, and as 
the result of its labors the present Constitution of the 
United States was framed and presented to the people for 
approval. 

But little is known as to the debates, which occurred dur- 
ing the meetings of this convention, for the only record of 
its proceedings which has been preserved for our study 
consists of the notes taken by James Madison and others, 
who were in attendance as delegates. These notes were 
very full and make most interesting reading, because they 
show the range of subjects under consideration and the 
names of those who were in attendance and participated in 
the discussions. 

From these records we learn that the proceedings were 
reasonably unanimous and free from violent discussion, 
except upon three questions, the most important of which 
was the manner in which the different States should be 
represented in the Federal Congress. And here we again 
have occasion to notice distrust and suspicion on the part 
of the smaller toward the larger States. The representa- 
tives from the smaller States insisted that, inasmuch as the 
convention was forming a union of sovereign States, each 
of the States should have an equal representation in Con- 



* See Critical Period of American History, by John Fiske. 



46 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

gress, while on behalf of the larger States it was urged that 
the number of representatives from each State should be 
based upon its population. 

This dispute was compromised by giving to each of the 
States an equal representation in the Senate, and providing 
that in the House of Representatives the number of mem- 
bers from each State should be determined by the popula- 
tion. The two remaining questions which provoked serious 
discussion were whether or not the slave trade should be 
permitted to continue, and how slaves should be counted in 
estimating the population of a state as a basis for determin- 
ing the number of members to which it should be entitled 
in the House of Representatives. These questions were of 
immense importance at that time, but owing to the com- 
plete abolition of slavery in this country, they are now inter- 
esting to us only as matters of history. 

This convention was one of the most remarkable bodies 
that ever met, both on account of the momentous work 
accomplished by it, and by reason of the personnel of 
its members, among whom may be mentioned Washing- 
ton, Randolph and Madison from Virginia ; Alexander 
Hamilton from New York ; Benjamin Franklin and the two 
Morrises from Pennsylvania; John Rutledge and the two 
Pinckneys from South Carolina; Roger Sherman from 
Connecticut — and many others, all constituting an assem- 
blage of political thinkers whose sagacity has never been 
surpassed. 

On September 17, 1787, the convention completed its 
labors, and, after the members had signed the new consti- 
tution, "it dissolved itself by an adjournment sine die." 
The journal kept by Mr. Madison gives some hint of the 
impressiveness of the occasion by concluding with the fol- 
lowing narrative : 



FORMATION OF THE UNION 47 

''Whilst the last members were signing, Doctor Frank- 
lin, looking toward the President's chair, at the back of 
which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a 
few members near him that painters had found it difficult 
to distinguish, in their art, a rising from a setting sun. 'I 
have/ said he, 'often and often, in the course of the session, 
and the vicissitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, 
looked at that behind the President, without being able to 
tell whether it was rising or setting; but now, at length, I 
have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a 
setting sun/ " 

The happy prognostication of the venerable philosopher 
and patriot has proved to be true, for, after more than a 
century of trial, under varying conditions and unforeseen 
dangers, the American Constitution has come to be re- 
garded as a masterpiece of political wisdom, not only by 
those who directly enjoy its benefits, but by students of 
political institutions throughout the world. Encomiums 
without number have been lavished upon it, but none is 
more forcible and sincere than the words of the English 
statesman, Mr. Gladstone, who says : 

"As far as I can see, the American Constitution is the 
most wonderful work ever struck off at one time by the 
brain and purpose of man." 

Equally significant are the following words of Mr. 
Froude, the great English historian : 

"The problem of how to combine a number of self-gov- 
erned communities into a single commonwealth, which 
now lies before Englishmen who desire to see a federation 
of the Empire, has been solved, and solved completely, in 
the American Union. The bond which, at the Declaration 
of Independence, was looser than that which now connects 
Australia and England, became strengthened by time and 



48 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

custom. The attempt to break it was successfully resisted 
by the sword, and the American Republic is, and is to con- 
tinue, so far as reasonable foresight can anticipate, one 
and henceforth indissoluble." 

These are the words of disinterested critics and there- 
fore cannot be attributed to patriotic enthusiasm. 

The constitution was finally ratified by the requisite 
number of States in June, 1788, and since that time it has 
been the supreme law of the land. 



CHAPTER VI. 
OUTLINE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 

The preamble of the constitution states, within its few 
lines, that it is the act of the people of the United States in 
whom the sovereign power is vested, and also shows, in 
remarkably small compass, the legitimate objects for which 
governments exist.* 

The best government is that which secures such objects 
as are mentioned in the preamble with the least sacrifice of 
personal rights on behalf of the citizens, and the least inter- 
ference with local affairs on the part of the general gov- 
ernment. 

In commencing our study of the Constitution, we notice 
the division of the government into three branches — legis- 
lative, executive and judicial — and observe that the scope 
of each of these departments is strictly defined, so that 
there may be no dispute between the different branches as 
to the duties with which each is charged by the constitu- 
tion. 

The legislative powers of the government are vested in 
a Congress of the United States, consisting of a Senate 
and House of Representatives, the Senate being desig- 
nated sometimes as the upper house and the House of 
Representatives as the lower house of Congress. Con- 
gress must assemble at least once in each year, and the 

*For text of preamble, see Appendix A. 

(49) 



50 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

session commences on the first Monday in December at 
the City of Washington. 

House of Representatives.— The House of Repre- 
sentatives is composed of members chosen every second 
year by the people of the different States. To be eligible for 
the office of representative in Congress a person must be at 
least twenty-five years of age and have been for seven years 
a citizen of the United States, and must be an inhabitant of 
the State from which he is chosen. The number of repre- 
sentatives to which any particular State is entitled depends 
upon the population of the State, the only persons excluded 
in determining the number of representatives at this time 
being Indians. 

At the time of the adoption of the Constitution each State 
was allowed one representative for every 30,000 of popula- 
tion, but every State having a population of less than 30,- 
000 was entitled to one representative. At the present time 
the ratio of representation is determined by the census of 
1890, and each State is allowed one representative for ap- 
proximately every 175,000 of inhabitants. The Constitu- 
tion makes no provision for the appointment of any officers 
of the House of Representatives except the presiding of- 
ficer, who is called the Speaker, and who must be a member 
of the House. Other officers, such as the Clerk, Sergeant 
at Arms and Chaplain, are not members of the House. 

Senate. — The Senate of the United States is composed 
of two Senators from each State, chosen by the State Leg- 
islature for a term of six years. The members of the first 
Senate were divided into three classes, holding their offices 
respectively for terms of two, four and six years, so that 
the term of office of one-third of the Senators expires every 
second year, and it consequently never happens that the 
Senate is composed entirely of new members. In case the 



THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 51 

office of Senator from any State becomes vacant while 
the legislature of the State is not in session, the governor 
has power to make a temporary appointment until the leg- 
islature meets. It has generally been held that the gov- 
ernor does not have power to make a temporary appoint- 
ment in case of vacancies occasioned by a failure of the 
legislature to elect, although in recent years several such 
appointments have been attempted to be made. 

The qualifications of a Senator are that he must be at 
least thirty years of age and must have been a citizen of the 
United States for nine years, and must be an inhabitant of 
the State from which he is chosen. The Vice-President of 
the United States is the presiding officer of the Senate, but 
he has no vote unless the Senate is equally divided. All 
other officers of the Senate are chosen by the Senators, and 
among them is a president pro tempore, who presides in the 
absence of the Vice-President and performs all of the duties 
of the Vice-President in case the Vice-President is required 
to exercise the duties of the President, as was the case 
when Chester A. Arthur became President of the United 
States by reason of the death of President Garfield. 

Executive Department. — The executive power of the 
government is vested in the President, who holds his office 
for four years. No person can be President of the United 
States except a natural-born citizen who has attained the age 
of thirty-five years and who has been for fourteen years a 
resident within the United States. In case of the removal of 
the President from office or of his death, resignation or in- 
ability to act, all of the duties of the office devolve upon 
the Vice-President, and Congress has power to provide by 
law who shall act in case of the death, resignation or dis- 
ability of both President and Vice-President. In such case 
an Act of Congress, passed in the year 1886, has determined 



S£ FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

that the presidential office shall devolve upon the officers 
composing the President's cabinet, in the following order : 
Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of 
War, Attorney-General, Postmaster-General, Secretary of 
the Navy, Secretary of the Interior. 

Method of Electing the President. — The method of 
electing a President and Vice-President is a peculiar one, 
which was devised by the framers of the Constitution to 
avoid submitting to a popular vote the election of these 
important officers, they deeming it unsafe to leave to the 
excitement of a political campaign the question of deter- 
mining who shall occupy these positions. Accordingly 
they devised a scheme known as the Electoral College, un- 
der which each State chooses a number of electors equal to 
the number of Senators and Representatives to which the 
State is entitled in Congress. 

These electors are chosen by popular vote, and shortly 
after their election they are required to meet in their re- 
spective States and vote by ballot for President and Vice- 
President, one of whom at least shall not be an inhabitant 
of the same State with themselves, naming in their ballots 
the person voted for as President and in distinct ballots 
the person voted for as Vice-President. After they have 
voted, three lists are made of all persons voted for as Pres- 
ident and Vice-President, with the number of votes for 
each. These lists are signed and certified by the electors 
and sent to the Capitol of the United States at Washing- 
ton, directed to the President of the Senate. 

The method of transmitting these certified lists to the 
President of the Senate is interesting. One copy is deliv- 
ered to him at Washington by a special messenger before 
the first Wednesday in January succeeding the election; 
another is sent to him by mail ; and the third is committed 



THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 53 

to the custody of the judge of the district, to be delivered 
by him to the Secretary of State, in case neither of the other 
certificates has been received by the proper officer at Wash- 
ington before the first Wednesday in January. 

Counting the Vote. — The President of the Senate is 
required to open the certificates in the presence of the Sen- 
ate and House of Representatives and count the votes. The 
person having the greatest number of votes for President 
is elected, provided such a number be a majority of the 
whole number of electors. If no person has such a majority, 
then from the persons having the highest number of votes, 
not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as Pres- 
ident, the House of Representatives shall choose by ballot 
the President, but in voting for President the House votes 
by States, each State being entitled to one vote. 

In a similar manner the person having the greatest num- 
ber of votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice-President, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number of elec- 
tors, and if no person has a majority then the Vice-Pres- 
ident is chosen by the Senate from the two highest numbers 
on the list. No person can be elected to the office of Vice- 
President unless he has all the qualifications necessary to 
make him eligible for the office of President. 

Judicial Department. — The judicial department of the 
United States is vested in one Supreme Court and in such 
inferior courts as Congress from time to time shall estab- 
lish. All of the judges of these courts hold their offices 
during good behavior, consequently an appointment to an 
office of this kind is highly prized, for it is practically an 
office for life. The jurisdiction of the United States courts 
extends to two classes of cases, one class being dependent 
upon the laws applicable to the case, and the other class 
being dependent upon the character of the persons engaged 



54 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

in the litigation. Among the first class of cases are those 
arising under the Constitution of the United States, the 
laws of Congress and the treaties between the United States 
and foreign governments, and under the second class are 
included cases affecting ambassadors and other public min- 
isters and consuls and the controversies in which the United 
States or any of the States shall be a party, and between 
citizens of the different States or of foreign States. 

Treason. — In connection with the judicial department 
it is proper to note the only crime against the United States 
which is defined by the Constitution — viz : the crime of trea- 
son, which consists solely in levying war against the United 
States or in adhering to its enemies, giving them aid and 
comfort. In former times treason has had a much wider 
definition, and history is filled with accounts of persons who 
have been condemned to death or to severe penalties for 
committing comparatively small offenses, because these of- 
fenses happened to be within a category of crimes any one 
of which constituted treason. For this reason the framers 
of the Constitution no doubt thought it necessary for the 
protection of future generations that the meaning of the 
word treason should be definitely established. 

This, in brief, is an outline of the framework of the gov- 
ernment of the United States, and its simplicity is probably 
its most notable feature. In subsequent chapters we shall 
show in detail the powers and duties of each of the depart- 
ments of the government, and, as we proceed, the wisdom 
of the framers of the Constitution will become more and 
more apparent, in devising a scheme of government based 
upon the requirements of a nation having a few millions 
of inhabitants, but which has been found sufficient to meet 
all the requirements for so many years, with all the changes 



THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 55 

resulting from an enormous increase in population and the 
difference in conditions existing between life at the present 
day and that of ioo years ago. 

Note: In connection with the study of this chapter frequent reference 
should be had to the text of the Constitution, which will be found in Ap- 
pendix A. 



CHAPTER VII. 
THE POWERS OF CONGRESS. 

The powers of Congress are so numerous and important 
as to require special attention and explanation, otherwise 
the few brief paragraphs in the Constitution containing the 
grant of these powers will not be fully understood, and the 
student will fail to obtain a full comprehension of the wide 
range of subjects upon which Congress is authorized to 
legislate. 

Taxation. — The power of levying taxes is one of the in- 
dispensable attributes of sovereignty, because no govern- 
ment can exist unless it is able to raise the necessary funds 
for its support. Probably from these considerations the 
first power granted to Congress by the Constitution was 
the. power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and ex- 
cises, subject to the single condition that they shall be uni- 
form throughout the United States. All of the laws en- 
acted by Congress upon the subject of taxation are based 
upon the authority conferred by these few words. 

Duties and Excises. — A tax may be defined as that 
portion of his property which each citizen is obliged to 
contribute for the support of the government. Duties, 
imposts and excises are different kinds of taxes, each word 
having a distinct meaning indicating the nature of the tax 
designated by it. Duties are taxes imposed by the gov- 
ernment upon the importation and sometimes upon the ex- 
portation of merchandise. An impost is another term 

(56) 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 57 

used to designate a tax on imported goods, having prac- 
tically the same signification as the word duty. Excises 
are also called internal revenue taxes and are laid upon a 
few articles produced, manufactured or sold in this country, 
principally tobacco, cigars and distilled liquors. 

In times of peace all of the revenues of the United States 
government are derived from duties and excises, but in 
times of war, when the government is under increased ex- 
pense, a great variety of additional internal revenue taxes 
is imposed in order to pay for the cost of supporting the 
army and navy and carrying on military and naval opera- 
tions, often costing several millions of dollars each day. 

Tariff. — Duties are collected by government collectors, 
who are stationed at all of the important seaports and bor- 
der towns, who inspect all merchandise brought into the 
country, determine the amount of tax upon each article 
and see that the tax is paid before the articles are delivered 
to their respective owners. A list of the articles upon 
which a duty is charged, together with the rate of duty 
upon each of such articles, is called a tariff, and the govern- 
ment office where the business incident to the collection of 
duties is transacted is called a custom house. 

Indirect Taxes. — Taxes of this kind are called indirect 
taxes, because they are finally paid by the person who pur- 
chases the imported goods for his own use. For instance, 
a merchant in the United States purchases silk ribbon in 
France at the rate of twenty-five cents per yard. Upon its 
arrival in this country he is obliged to pay a duty at the rate 
of fifty per cent of its cost. A few weeks later he sells the 
ribbon over the counters of his retail store for a price suffi- 
cient to pay the original cost, together with the duty which 
he has paid, the cost of transportation and a reasonable 
profit for his labor and trouble. Thus, a lady who buys 



58 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

this ribbon to furnish decorations for her hat or dress indi- 
rectly pays the tax to the government. 

Direct Taxes.— Direct taxes are those which are im- 
posed upon specific kinds of property, such as land, houses, 
pianos, watches, jewelry, carriages or sewing machines. A 
poll tax is also a direct tax. The United States government 
levies no direct taxes whatever, but leaves that form of 
taxation to be employed by the States. 

Borrowing Money. — Closely connected with the power 
of raising money by taxation is the power to borrow 
money on the credit of the United States to meet the ex- 
penses of the government. It is seldom necessary for Con- 
gress to avail itself of this power in times of peace, be- 
cause, under ordinary circumstances, a well-devised system 
of taxation will provide sufficient revenue to carry on the 
government ; but when war occurs or for other reasons the 
government is put to extraordinary expenses, then Con- 
gress has the power to raise funds by borrowing. In such a 
contingency Congress enacts a law determining the amount 
of money to be borrowed, the nature of the securities, usu- 
ally bonds, to be given to the lenders, the rate of interest to 
be paid and the time and place for the payment of the prin- 
cipal and interest. When this has been done the securities 
are placed in the hands of the Secretary of the Treasury, 
who delivers them to the persons lending the money to the 
government. The credit of the United States government 
is so good that it never has any difficulty in borrowing 
enormous sums of money at a low rate of interest. 

Regulating Commerce. — The power to regulate com- 
merce with foreign nations, which is conferred upon Con- 
gress, is the source of a large number of laws enacted for 
the purpose of protecting American ships and controlling 
the conduct of sailor on board them, as well as caring 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 59 

for American commercial interests in foreign lands. To 
protect the commercial interests of our citizens in other 
countries, the government has agents called consuls sta- 
tioned at all important foreign ports, who perform all acts 
necessary to prevent fraud or injustice in the treatment of 
citizens of the United States. Under the same grant of 
power Congress has made provision for establishing light- 
houses, improving harbors, inspecting vessels, and has 
made many rules, such as those relating to quarantine and 
the employment of competent pilots, all of which are de- 
signed for the protection of our citizens and merchants. 

Inter-State Commerce. — Under the same clause of 
the Constitution, Congress is given power to regulate com- 
merce between the States, and in 1887 it exercised this 
power by passing a law, called the Inter-State Commerce 
Act, to afford relief from many of the abuses then prev- 
alent in connection with the management of the railroad 
systems of this country. By this law railroads are for- 
bidden to discriminate between persons by giving a lower 
freight rate to one shipper than to another, or to favor 
any particular city or locality by giving to it more advan- 
tageous freight rates than to another. 

They are also prevented from entering into combina- 
tions tending to destroy competition by keeping up the 
price of passenger transportation and freight charges, and 
it is made unlawful for them to attempt to influence public 
officers by giving them free passes. To provide for the 
enforcement of this law Congress created the Inter-State 
Commerce Commission, which is composed of five mem- 
bers, appointed by the President and called Commission- 
ers. This commission hears and determines all questions 
arising under the Inter-State Commerce Law, and is rap- 
idly becoming one of the most important tribunals in the 



60 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

whole country, owing to the number and magnitude of the 
matters coming before it for adjudication. 

Coining Money. — The next power of Congress which 
we shall notice is one with which the commercial interests 
of the country are deeply concerned — namely, the power to 
coin money and regulate the value thereof. No business 
of any kind can be transacted without money, which is a 
medium enabling a citizen to exchange one commodity for 
another. In civilized communities no one person produces 
everything which he needs for his own use, but devotes 
his energies to the production of a few articles only. The 
farmer raises more corn and potatoes than he can use, and 
the surplus he exchanges for clothing for himself and fam- 
ily and for other articles which he cannot produce on his 
farm. As it is not easy to find a person who has a stock of 
clothing which he wishes to exchange for corn or potatoes, 
the farmer accomplishes his purpose by selling his prod- 
ucts for money, and with that money he purchases such 
articles as he needs. 

Money may, therefore, be defined as a medium of ex- 
change in commercial transactions. It is also a standard for 
determining the value of all the different kinds of property. 
It follows that the money used must be of uniform value 
throughout the country, and that the monetary system must 
be fixed and certain. For this reason the United States 
government alone has the power to coin money and to is- 
sue bills and notes which circulate as money. 

Different Kinds of Money. — In the United States 
the standard of value is the gold dollar,* and to provide 
the money necessary to carry on the business transactions 
of the country Congress has, from time to time, enacted 



♦The gold dollar weighs 25.8 grains, of which 23.22 grains are pure gold 
and 2.58 grains are alloy. 



THE POWERS OE CONGRESS 61 

laws under which different kinds of money have come into 
use. 

Gold coins of various denominations are made at the 
United States mints, the most frequently used being the 
$20, $10 and $5 gold pieces. Uncoined gold in blocks and 
bars is equally valuable, and where large payments in gold 
are to be made is preferable because it is more easily han- 
dled and does not lose its value as gold coins do by the 
friction of one upon the other. Gold coin and gold bullion 
are also deposited in the United States Treasury and the 
depositor receives for his gold a kind of paper money 
called a gold certificate, certifying that gold equal in 
amount to the face of the certificate has been so deposited, 
and that the holder of the certificate can exchange it for 
gold at any time he wishes. These certificates are used for 
convenience, as gold in large quantities is a bulky com- 
modity and gold coin depreciates in value by the wear in- 
cident to constant handling. 

The United States government at the present time coins 
silver money of four denominations — the $1, 50-cent, 25- 
cent and 10-cent pieces, the last three being termed subsid- 
iary coins. Silver certificates are issued in the manner that 
has been described in speaking of gold certificates, but in 
smaller denominations. Silver bullion is not used as money, 
because the silver contained in a silver dollar is less valuable 
than the gold contained in a gold dollar, and consequently 
silver bullion is less valuable, according to its weight, than 
silver dollars. 

Minor coins, consisting of 5-cent pieces, or nickels, as 
they are ordinarily termed, and copper cents, are furnished, 
as they are convenient in small business transactions and 
their use is a matter of daily necessity. 

Treasury notes are promissory notes issued by the gov- 



62 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

ernment. They are sometimes called "greenbacks/' and 
were first issued during the civil war. At first they were 
not exchangeable for gold or silver coin, and their value de- 
pended wholly upon the credit given to the government 
and the confidence of the public in the government's ability 
to pay its debts, for these notes were evidences of govern- 
ment indebtedness, just as is the case with the promissory 
note of an individual. In the year 1879, provision was made 
by Congress for the redemption of these notes in coin, 
and for that purpose a reserve fund of $100,000,000 in 
gold coin or bullion is kept in the treasury at all times, and 
these notes are now just as valuable as gold or silver cer- 
tificates. 

National bank notes are a kind of money issued by na- 
tional banks throughout the country, but subject to condi- 
tions imposed by Congress. National banks are corpora- 
tions* organized under and by virtue of an Act of Con- 
gress. This act provides that a portion of the capital of 
the bank must be invested in bonds of the United States, 
which must be deposited in the United States Treasury. 
The banks are then allowed to issue their promissory notes 
to the extent of the face of the bonds deposited by them. 
These notes are payable in coin or greenbacks and circulate 
as money, because their payment is guaranteed by the gov- 
ernment, and consequently they are just as valuable as if 
they had been issued by the government itself. 



*A corporation is an institution, created by governmental power, composed 
of individuals and exercising powers and privileges not possessed by the 
persons composing it. The most important of these are continuous legal 
identity and perpetual succession under the corporate name, notwithstanding 
the changes in the members by death or otherwise. Chief Justice Marshall 
said: "A corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible and existing 
only in contemplation of law." 

A large portion of the business transactions of the present day is trans- 
acted by corporations, such as banks and insurance, railroad and telegraph 
companies and other organizations in almost every branch of industry. 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 63 

Patents and Copyrights. — Congress has power to 
protect inventors and authors by securing to them for lim- 
ited periods the exclusive right to their respective inven- 
tions and writings. The wisdom of granting such protec- 
tion as this to promote the progress of science and the use- 
ful arts is manifest, for advancement in civilization and 
power goes hand in hand with the progress of science. In 
exercising these powers, Congress furnishes protection to 
an inventor by granting him a patent upon his invention, 
and to an author or artist by giving him a copyright on his 
writings or drawings. 

A patent is an instrument in writing by which the United 
States Government guarantees to an inventor the exclu- 
sive right to manufacture and sell his invention for a pe.- 
riod of seventeen years. The granting of patents is under 
the charge of the Commissioner of Patents, whose office is 
a branch of the executive department of the government. 

A copyright secures to an author or artist the exclusive 
right to print, publish, manufacture and sell his writings 
or works of art for the period of twenty-eight years, at the 
expiration of which it may be renewed for an additional pe- 
riod of fourteen years. Copyrights are granted by the Li- 
brarian of Congress, who is an independent executive offi- 
cer directly under the control of Congress and not at- 
tached to any of the executive departments. 

Bankruptcy. — The power of Congress to establish uni- 
form laws on the subject of bankruptcy throughout the 
United States is one that has recently been exercised by 
the enactment of a law called the National Bankruptcy 
Law. A bankrupt is a person who, through business mis- 
fortunes or for other reasons, is unable to pay his debts, or 
whose debts are greater in amount than the value of all of 
his property. Under such circumstances it is right and 



64 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

just that the debtor should surrender all of his property to 
his creditors to be divided among them in proportion to 
their respective claims, and, having done so honestly, that 
he should be released and discharged from all further obli- 
gation to pay the balance of his debts. In this way, all 
creditors alike are enabled to secure their just proportion 
of the debtor's assets and the debtor is allowed to com- 
mence business anew. To secure these results the present 
bankruptcy law was passed and is now in operation under 
the control of the various District Courts of the United 
States. 

Naturalization. — Another very important power con- 
ferred upon Congress is that of establishing a uniform 
rule of naturalization — that is, of determining in what 
manner and under what conditions persons born in foreign 
countries may become citizens of the United States. These 
rules should be the same in all States, because the Con- 
stitution declares that the citizens of each State shall have 
all the privileges of citizens of every other State. There- 
fore, in order to secure this uniformity, it follows that nat- 
uralization laws must be enacted by the United States Gov- 
ernment. 

These laws require that the subject of a foreign state 
who wishes to become a citizen of the United States must 
make a declaration of his intention in that behalf under 
oath before a court of competent jurisdiction. When this 
has been done, a record is made of the declaration and a 
certificate showing the proceeding is given to the appli- 
cant. After the expiration of at least two years, the process 
is completed by applying to the court for a final certificate 
of naturalization. At this time the applicant is required 
to prove by a credible witness that he has resided in the 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS G5 

United States at least five years, and in the State where 
the application is made at least one year; that his moral 
character has been good during this period, and that he is 
attached to the principles of the Constitution and well dis- 
posed toward the Government of the United States. The 
candidate for citizenship should have a fair knowledge of 
the Constitution and government of this country. After 
this proof has been made, the applicant is required to take 
an oath in which he renounces allegiance to all foreign 
powers and potentates, specifying in particular the one to 
which he has been subject, and declares that he will sup- 
port the Constitution of the United States. The process is 
now complete and a certificate of naturalization and citi- 
zenship is given to the applicant by the court in which the 
proof has been made. 

An applicant for citizenship who came to this country 
before he was eighteen years of age is not required to make 
the original declaration of intention, and soldiers in the 
United States army who have been honorably discharged 
may take the oath of allegiance after one year's residence 
in this country. 

Territorial Government. — The fundamental law of all 
territories of the United States is the Constitution, but 
the form of government of a territory is determined by 
Congress. The power of organizing the government of a 
territory is vested in Congress by a few words of the Con- 
stitution, authorizing that body to "make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory or other property 
belonging to the United States."* 

The political rights granted to the inhabitants of a ter- 
ritory depend upon many considerations, among which are 



♦See Sec. 3, Article IV, of Constitution. 
6 



66 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

the extent and character of the population, the education 
of the people and their ability to manage local affairs. 

It is, therefore, impossible to describe in detail the form 
of government employed in the territories, because it has 
differed somewhat in each case. Generally speaking, the 
right of local self-government has been recognized by 
Congress, but the people of the territory have no voice in 
federal affairs. A Territory has no constitution, its place 
being supplied by the act of Congress under 'which the 
Territory is organized. This act usually determines the 
qualifications of voters, describes the powers of the Terri- 
torial government, provides for the appointment of a gov- 
ernor and judges by the President, and establishes legisla- 
tive, judicial and executive departments, limiting and defin- 
ing their powers and relations to each other.* 

Classification of Powers of Congress. — The powers 
conferred upon Congress are for the most part enumer- 
ated in Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution, and so 
concise and explicit is the language employed that it is dif- 
ficult to find a single superfluous word in the entire sec- 
tion. It is, therefore, necessary that every student of the 
Constitution should be familiar with the contents of this 
section, as well as a few other sections containing grants of 
power to the United States Government. To assist in at- 
taining this familiarity without attempting to memorize the 
text of the Constitution, the following classification of the 
powers of the United States Government, made by a dis- 
tinguished commentator, who was one of the framers of 
the document, will be found to be useful, the basis of clas- 
sification being the objects sought to be accomplished by 
the granting of the various powers : 

*See Chapter XIII for brief description of the government of the North- 
west Territory. 



THE POWERS OF CONGRESS 67 

i. Powers granted in order to afford security against 
foreign danger, among which may be included those of de- 
claring war, raising and supporting armies, providing and 
maintaining a navy, making rules for the government of 
the land and naval forces, and levying taxes and borrowing 
money. 

2. Powers necessary for the regulation of intercourse 
with foreign nations, which include the power to regulate 
foreign commerce, to define and punish piracy and other 
offenses against the law of nations, and certain powers 
vested in the executive branch of the government relating 
to the making of treaties and sending ambassadors, minis- 
ters and consuls to foreign nations. 

3. Those powers which have for their object the main- 
tenance of harmony and proper intercourse among the 
States. This class is the most numerous of all, and in it 
may be included the powers to regulate commerce among 
the several States ; to coin money and regulate its value ; 
to provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securi- 
ties and coin of the United States ; to establish a uniform 
rule of naturalization and bankruptcy laws ; to establish 
postoffices and post roads ; and also certain restraints upon 
the power of the States and certain judicial powers, which 
will be described hereafter. 

4. Powers for the promotion of certain miscellaneous 
objects of general public utility. This class includes the 
power to protect inventors and authors by granting pat- 
ents and copyrights ; the power to exercise exclusive legis- 
lation over the territory known as the District of Columbia, 
in which the seat of the government is located, and a simi- 
lar authority over all forts, arsenals, magazines, dock- 
yards and other needful buildings ; to declare the punish- 
ment of treason; and certain powers relating to the gov- 



68 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

ernment of States and Territories, and to the admission of 
new States into the Union. 

5. Certain provisions enabling Congress to exercise ef- 
ficiently the powers given to it. The first of these provi- 
sions gives to Congress the power to make all needful laws 
for carrying into execution the foregoing powers and all 
other powers vested by the Constitution in the Government 
of the United States, or any of its departments or officers, 
and the second is that provision which makes the Consti- 
tution and laws of the United States the supreme law of the 
land, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained 
in the Constitution and laws of any State. 



Note. — The classification above given is adapted from articles In The Fed- 
eralist, of which James Madison was the author. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

The few sections of the Constitution relating to the ex- 
ecutive department give but a slight idea of the number 
and importance of the duties discharged by this branch of 
the government, and if we confined our investigation solely 
to a consideration of the functions of those executive offices 
created by the Constitution, we should be limited to the 
President and Vice-President, who are the only officers of 
that department therein mentioned. Bearing in mind that 
the members of the President's Cabinet, eight in number, 
the heads of numerous bureaus and departments, commis- 
sioners of various kinds, the general-in-chief of the army 
and his subordinates, the admiral of the navy and many 
others, all are executive officers, it may seem strange that 
the framers of the Constitution neglected to embody in that 
document more detailed provisions as to this department. 

On the other hand, recollecting that in 1789 the nation 
had a population of only a few million inhabitants and that 
the essential framework of a government for the country 
in those days was simple as compared with the require- 
ments of the present day, it is an additional evidence of the 
wisdom of our forefathers that they did not attempt to pro- 
vide in express terms all of the details of the executive 
branch of the government which might be rendered neces- 
sary by the change iri conditions incident to the growth 
and development of a century of progress. 

(69) 



70 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

The framcrs of the Constitution vested the executive 
power in the President alone, giving him authority to ap- 
point certain other executive officers, but had sufficient fore- 
sight to leave with Congress power to create such other 
offices, subordinate to the President, as future circumstances 
might require. Therefore, the executive department as it 
exists to-day and the duties of all executive officers, with 
the exception of the President and Vice-President, are de- 
pendent upon acts of Congress and not upon provisions 
of the Constitution. 

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE PRESIDENT. 

Commander-in-Chief.— The President, by virtue of his 
office, is commander-in-chief of the army and navy and of 
the militia of the various States when called into the actual 
service of the United States. It has happened in many 
cases that the President has been a man of military experi- 
ence and well qualified to act as commander of the army, 
but the office has never been filled by a man having a naval 
training, and in most cases the President has not been quali- 
fied by personal experience to command either the army or 
the navy. Therefore, the actual management of these 
branches of the government is left to the war and navy 
departments, while the President, as commander-in-chief, 
appoints the heads of these departments and other subordi- 
nate officers. He also has the power of assigning officers 
of the army and navy to their stations and duties and of 
controlling the movements of both branches of the service 
and of determining the plans to be followed and the policy 
to be pursued in their management. 

Opinions of Executive Officers. — To aid and guide 
him in the discharge of his duties he may require the opin- 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 71 

ion in writing of the head of any of the executive depart- 
ments upon any subject relating to the duties of the depart- 
ment, and thus he is able at all times to obtain expert ad- 
vice upon questions concerning which he may not have per- 
sonal knowledge. The power thus given to the President 
to demand this assistance implies a requirement that the 
officer whose opinion is sought shall give it fully, honestly 
and exhaustively. 

Reprieves and Pardons. — The President can grant 
reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United 
States, except in cases of impeachment. A reprieve is an 
order delaying the execution of a sentence for a specified 
time, and a pardon is a grant of complete absolution from 
the consequences of criminal offense. Under monarchical 
governments the power of granting reprieves and pardons 
is a royal prerogative and is exercised only by the sover- 
eign. 

Treaties. — With respect to the relations between our 
government and foreign nations, the President is charged 
with the exercise of powers and the discharge of duties of 
great importance. He has the power of making treaties, 
which are agreements between two or more nations relat- 
ing to matters which concern the welfare of the inhabitants 
of the contracting nations, such as commerce, boundaries, 
claims of citizens of one country against the government 
of another, the rights of a citizen of one country to acquire 
and hold property within the territory of another, the mak- 
ing and preservation of peace and the extradition of crim- 
inals. 

While the President has the power of making a treaty, 
he does not personally conduct the negotiations w r ith a for- 
eign country, but appoints one or more persons, who meet 
with the representatives of the foreign power and discuss 



72 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

the subject matter of the treaty, acting at all times under 
the direction of the President. In order to negotiate a 
treaty it is necessary that a single officer should have the 
power of representing the government, hence this power is 
given to the President. But treaties as well as the Consti- 
tution are the supreme law of the land, and a treaty has all 
the effect of a law in regulating the dealings of the citizens 
of the different countries with each other; therefore, the 
legislative branch of the government should be consulted 
in the making of laws of so much importance. Hence the 
Constitution provides that, before any treaty can become 
operative, it must receive the consent and approval of two- 
thirds of the Senators of the United States. 

Ambassadors and Ministers. — With the advice and 
consent of the Senate the President appoints ambassadors 
and other public ministers and consuls, who represent the 
interests of our country at the capitals and principal cities 
of all the nations of the world. He also receives the am- 
bassadors and public ministers from other countries who 
are accredited to our government. Every civilized nation 
sends a representative to each country with which it is on 
friendly terms, for the purpose of carrying on negotiations 
and protecting the interests of the nation and its people 
in the foreign land. This system is called the diplomatic 
service. The officers in the diplomatic service of our gov- 
ernment are of four grades — ambassadors, who represent 
our country at the most important European capitals, such 
as those of England, France, Germany and Russia ; envoys 
extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary, who are sent to 
those countries which are not represented at our capital 
by ambassadors ; ministers resident, who are officers of a 
lower rank than the two preceding and are our represent- 
atives at the capitals of second-rate powers ; and charges 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 73 

d'affaires, who are accredited to those countries with which 
we have but few relations. 

Consuls. — Consuls are officers of a different class, ap- 
pointed by the President. They are not diplomatic agents 
of the government, but may properly be called its commer- 
cial agents, whose duty it is to protect our commercial in- 
terests in foreign countries and our vessels, seamen and 
citizens and their property in foreign ports. They are of 
three grades — consuls-general, consuls and consular agents 
— the classification being based upon the relative importance 
of the places at which they are stationed. A consul must re- 
ceive from the government of the country in which he is 
located a document granting him permission to enter upon 
his duties. This document is called an exequatur, and in 
our country it is issued to foreign consuls through the of- 
fice of the Secretary of State. 

Consuls have many duties to perform, among which may 
be mentioned — taking care of destitute American sailors, 
certifying shipments of merchandise, examining emigrants, 
certifying the proper execution of legal documents and fur- 
nishing to their own government monthly reports upon mat- 
ters of commercial or political interest. 

Power of Appointment. — The Constitution also gives 
to the President the power of appointing all other officers 
of the United States except those whose selection is regu- 
lated by the Constitution, but reserves to Congress the right 
of determining whether or not the appointment of inferior 
officers shall be made by the President alone, by the courts 
of law or by the heads of departments. In the exercise of 
his power the President appoints a vast number of officers, 
such as judges of the different United States courts and 
other officers connected with the administration of justice, 
district attorneys, marshals and commissioners of various 



?4 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

kinds, the members of his Cabinet and heads of depart- 
ments, collectors of customs and of internal revenue, the 
postmasters in large cities, officers of the army and navy, 
governors and judges for the territories and surveyors of 
public lands. It would require a volume by itself to explain 
in detail the duties of all of the officers appointed by the 
President, and therefore, except in the case of the more im- 
portant, the work of obtaining information on these mat- 
ters must be left for your own investigation. 

Messages. — The remaining duties of the President will 
not be given special attention, with the exception of the re- 
quirement that he shall, from time to time, give to Con- 
gress information of the state of the Union and recommend 
to its consideration such measures as he shall judge neces- 
sary and expedient. This is an important official duty, be- 
cause, owing to the close attention which the President is 
obliged to give to the affairs of the nation at all times, he 
is better informed as to what legislation is necessary and 
should be enacted than the members of Congress, who, dur- 
ing the interim between the sessions of that body, are 
largely concerned with their own private affairs. 

In fulfilling this duty the first two Presidents opened the 
sessions of Congress with an address delivered in person to 
both Houses, but after the lapse of a few years this practice 
was criticised as being an imitation of the address made by 
the King of Great Britain at the opening of Parliament; 
therefore it was abandoned during the administration of 
Thomas Jefferson, who inaugurated the custom of sending 
a written message to Congress to be read to both Houses 
at the opening of the session. 

It is usual for the President to review in his message, in 
general terms, such important matters connected with the 
administration of the government as he deems it proper to 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 75 

mention and to recommend such legislation as he thinks 
the necessities of the country demand. The acceptance or 
rejection of such recommendations depend largely upon the 
confidence which the members of Congress have in the 
President, and it frequently happens that his communication 
is practically ignored when a majority of the members of 
Congress belong to the opposite political party. 

His Responsibility. — It is the duty of the President 
to convene special sessions of Congress when extraordi- 
nary occasions may require, and to adjourn such sessions 
to any time which he may think proper. The responsibil- 
ity for the faithful execution of all of the laws of the United 
States devolves upon the President, and therefore he is held 
accountable for the negligence and mistakes of officers ap- 
pointed by him, although he personally may have had no 
connection with their acts. 

IMPEACHMENT. 

The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of 
the United States can be removed from office only by im- 
peachment for and conviction of treason, bribery or other 
high crimes and misdemeanors. The civil officers of the 
United States who are subject to removal from office by 
impeachment are all executive and judicial officers of the 
government, except officers of the army and navy. This 
does not include members of Congress nor officers of the 
State government, who are liable to impeachment by the 
State legislature for malfeasance in office. Officers of the 
army afid navy who have been guilty of misconduct are 
tried and punished by a tribunal called a court-martial, 
which is composed of military or naval officers. 

Definition. — The words impeachment and conviction are 
used in the Constitution, and it is necessary to understand 



76 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

the difference in these words, since they are sometimes used 
improperly as being identical in meaning. An impeachment 
means a formal charge or accusation against an officer, and, 
except for the importance of the offense and the serious 
nature of the charge, impeachment is in no way different 
from any other form of legal accusation, as a complaint or 
indictment. Conviction means the judgment by which the 
person impeached is found guilty. 

Procedure. — The process by which a civil officer of the 
United States Government is impeached and the trial of the 
charges against him must be commenced by the House of 
Representatives, which, under the Constitution, has the sole 
power of impeachment. The first step in the proceeding is a 
resolution adopted by the House of Representatives, in 
which the person to be impeached and the office held by him 
and the offense of winch he has been guilty are set forth in 
detail. Then a committee of the House of Representatives 
is appointed, whose duty it is to make a formal demand be- 
fore the Senate of the United States that the accused be 
summoned to answer the charges against him and required 
to appear before the Senate for trial. Then a committee 
of the House of Representatives is appointed to prepare the 
formal charges in writing against the officer, these charges 
being called Articles of Impeachment. Another committee 
of the House of Representatives is also appointed to act 
as prosecutors in the trial on behalf of the House of Repse- 
sentatives, which is the accusing body. 

The Senate is required by the Constitution to act as a 
court for the trial of cases of impeachment, and when so 
acting the members must take an oath as a jury does when 
hearing cases between private individuals. When the Pres- 
ident of the United States is under trial on articles of im- 
peachment, the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 7? 

Court acts as the presiding officer of the Senate. This pro- 
vision was probably made for the reason that the Vice- 
President in such a case might be regarded as an interested 
party, since in case of the conviction of the President the 
honor and dignity of the presidential office would fall to 
him. 

The proceedings upon the trial of an officer under ar- 
ticles of impeachment are similar to those of a court of jus- 
tice, and after the evidence has been heard and the argu- 
ments of counsel have been made, each Senator is required 
to vote upon the question of whether the accused is guilty 
or not guilty of each specific charge made in the articles of 
impeachment. In case of a conviction in impeachment pro- 
ceedings, the Constitution requires that the guilty officer 
be removed from his position and disqualified forever from 
holding any office of honor, trust or profit, under the 
United States Government. After a conviction has been had 
in impeachment proceedings, if the officer has been guilty of 
ofifenses which are punishable by law he may be again tried 
and punished in an ordinary court of justice, the same as a 
private person. 



CHAPTER IX. 
BRANCHES OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

One of the chief functions of government is to enforce 
the laws uniformly throughout the entire country. This is 
performed by the executive branch, of which the President 
is the head, thus giving him the title of Chief Executive, 
by which he is sometimes designated. For administering 
the affairs of government the executive branch is divided 
into nine departments, called the Departments of State, 
Treasury, War, Navy, Interior, Postoffice, Justice, Agricul- 
ture and Labor. The Constitution mentions executive de- 
partments in only a few instances, but these allusions show 
that the framers of that instrument contemplated the cre- 
ation of these departments as necessity might require. It 
will be our aim to learn something in this chapter of the 
manner in which the work of administering the laws is 
divided among these nine subordinate branches and to un- 
derstand the systematic way in which the various duties 
have been subdivided so that each officer, from the head of 
a department down to its humblest clerk, has his individual 
sphere of action perfectly defined. 

The Cabinet. — The head of each department, except 
Post Office, Justice and Labor, is called the Secretary of 
the Department. The head of the Post Office Department 
is called the Postmaster-General ; of the Department of Jus- 
tice, the Attorney-General ; and of the Department of Labor, 
the Commissioner of Labor. The Secretaries of State, 

(78) 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT BRANCHES ?9 

Treasury, War, Navy, Interior and Agriculture, together 
with the Postmaster-General and Attorney-General, consti- 
tute the President's Cabinet. This is an advisory body, 
which holds regular meetings to give the President infor- 
mation concerning the several departments and to recom- 
mend the methods to be employed in dealing with the 
numerous questions constantly arising in the governmental 
affairs of our wealthy and populous nation. The existence 
of the President's Cabinet is due rather to custom and neces- 
sity than to any provision of the Constitution or any law 
of Congress. While all of the offices held by members of 
the Cabinet have been created by laws of Congress, these 
laws make no provision for the association of the heads of 
the departments as a Cabinet. Therefore, as a body the 
Cabinet has no powers and duties except to advise and as- 
sist the President. 

Subordinate Officers. — Several of the departments 
have one or more assistant secretaries, the number of as- 
sistants being dependent upon the volume of business tran- 
sacted by the department. Each of the departments is 
divided into bureaus, the heads of which are called Com- 
missioners ; the bureaus are divided into divisions ; the head 
of each division is called the Chief ; the clerical force of 
each division is assigned to various rooms under the charge 
of Chief Clerks. Each person employed in the departments 
has his specific duties to perform and each is responsible 
to his immediately superior officer. 

The Appointing Power. — The power of appointing 
these officers is vested by the Constitution in the President, 
unless Congress provides for their appointment by the 
heads of the departments or otherwise, and speaking gen- 
erally, all of these officers are appointed by the President or 
the heads of the different executive departments. 



80 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

This power of appointment to office is a matter of such 
vital interest to the citizens of our country that every one 
should know the manner in which it is exercised. In the 
early days of the republic civil officers who were honest and 
competent retained their positions through successive ad- 
ministrations, but even then the temptation to fill the offices 
with political friends caused some of the early Presidents 
to swerve from the strict line of duty. History records that 
President John Adams spent the last hours of his term of 
office in making appointments to important public positions, 
in order to forestall the action of Mr. Jefferson, who was to 
succeed him in a few hours. So zealous was he to complete 
the work that when the clock struck the hour which ended 
his term of office he was still at his desk, signing commis- 
sions as rapidly as they could be placed before him.* 

When Andrew Jackson became President in 1828 he at 
once removed a large number of clerks and subordinate of- 
ficers and appointed in their places persons belonging to 
his own political party, and with a zeal worthy of a better 
cause his example has been faithfully imitated as far as pos- 
sible by nearly every President who has succeeded him. 

This practice of regarding positions in the civil service of 
the government as the legitimate rewards of the party suc- 
cessful at the polls became subversive of good government, 
because the inevitable tendency was to repay an active polit- 
ical worker for his labors by appointing him to an important 
public office instead of making honesty and competency the 
sole qualifications. After many years of discussion and 
agitation, Congress enacted the Civil Service Law, which 
requires that appointments to public office shall be based 
upon merit alone and that they shall not be distributed as 
rewards for political services. 



♦Morse's Life of Jefferson. 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT BRANCHES 81 

The Civil Service Law. — This law was enacted in the 
year 1883. It provides that the President shall appoint 
three commissioners, no more than two of whom shall be- 
long to the same political party. They are called Civil 
Service Commissioners, and it is their duty to carry into 
effect the provisions of the Civil Service Law. Therefore, 
they are executive officers. 

This law requires the commissioners to hold suitable 
examinations for testing the qualifications of applicants for 
positions in the various branches of the public service, and 
compels the officer who is given the power of appointment 
to make his selections from lists of those persons who have 
passed the required examinations. The law also protects 
employees of the government who have been appointed in 
this way, by forbidding their removal from office except for 
good cause. 

A very large proportion of the subordinate executive of- 
ficers of the government are subject to the provisions of 
this law, but the right to appoint heads of departments 
and many other officers filling positions of great im- 
portance still remains vested in the President. 

Department of State. — The first Congress which met 
after the adoption of the present Constitution created the 
Department of State by a law enacted on January 27, 1789. 
The head of this department is the Secretary of State, who 
ranks first among the members of the Cabinet. He is 
sometimes called the prime minister, or premier, names 
borrowed from the English governmental vocabulary, 
which cannot properly be applied to the Secretary of State, 
for the reason that his duties have but little in common 
with those of the English prime minister. 

The Secretary of State is the minister of foreign affairs, 
and has charge of all correspondence and negotiations 



82 



FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 



with the representatives of foreign governments. He is 
the head of our diplomatic and. consular service, and gives 
instructions to our ambassadors, ministers and consuls. It 
is his duty to keep in his custody all treaties with foreign 
countries, as well as the laws and resolutions of Congress 
and the proclamations of the President. He is the keeper 
of the great seal of the United States and attaches it to all 
documents which are required to be authenticated in that 
way, as presidential proclamations, official commissions 
and requisitions for the extradition of fugitives from jus- 
tice. He publishes all of the laws and resolutions of Con- 
gress and is required to report to that body from time to 
time, giving such information as may be needed concern- 
ing the business of his department. There are also several 
Assistant Secretaries of State. 

The department is divided into seven bureaus, the most 
important of which are the diplomatic and consular, which 
have been sufficiently described in the preceding chapter. 

The Treasury. — The Treasury Department also was 
created by the first Congress of the United States by law 
enacted on September 2, 1789. The Secretary of the Treas- 
ury ranks next to the Secretary of State, and his duties are 
of the highest importance. He has entire charge and con- 
trol of the financial affairs of the government, and prac- 
tically all legislative acts upon monetary questions are based 
upon his recommendations. It is his duty each year to give 
to Congress such information and advice as will enable that 
body to act intelligently in making provisions for the collec- 
tion of a revenue sufficient to meet the expenses of govern- 
ment and protect the credit of the United States. 

He must superintend the collection of duties and internal 
revenue taxes, the coinage of money, the engraving of the 
different kinds of paper money in use; the engraving of 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT BRANCHES 83 

bonds issued by the government and the payment of all 
obligations on the part of the government. He has charge 
of the Life-Saving Service, the inspection of steam vessels, 
the system of lighthouses, the marine hospitals and the 
erection of public buildings. 

The business of the Treasury Department, as indicated 
by its disbursements alone, is so enormous as to be almost 
beyond comprehension. During its existence it has paid 
out many billions of dollars and its transactions have always 
been so conducted as to furnish a just reason for national 
pride. 

The department is divided into a large number of divisions 
under the charge of chief officers, who are in immediate con- 
trol of a great number of subordinates, not only in Wash- 
ington, but in all parts of the country and in every place 
under the jurisdiction of the United States. So numerous 
are these officers that we can refer to only a few of them. 

The Treasurer of the United States receives and dis- 
burses all of the moneys of the government. He has 
charge of the entire treasury system, including the national 
treasury at Washington and the sub-treasuries which have 
been established in the various large cities of the coun- 
try for convenience in receiving and disbursing the money 
of the government. 

The Register of the Treasury has charge of the book- 
keeping and accounts of the government. The auditors 
examine and pass upon the accounts and expenses of the 
various branches of the government. The national bank- 
ing system is under the supervision of the Comptroller of 
the Currency. The Commissioner of Customs superin- 
tends the government custom houses and the collection of 
duties. 

Other important officers of the Treasury Department 



84 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

are the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Chief of the 
Bureau of Statistics, Superintendent of the Bureau of 
Printing and Engraving, Director of the Mint, Superin- 
tendent of the Life-Saving Service, Solicitor of the Treas- 
ury, Supervising Architect and Commissioner of Naviga- 
tion. 

War Department — The third executive department, cre- 
ated by the first Congress is the War Department, which 
originated with an act of Congress passed in August, 1789. 
During Washington's administration the heads of the three 
departments of State, Treasury and War constituted the 
President's cabinet, and during that period the naval af- 
fairs were under the charge of the War Department. 

The War Department has control of the military affairs of 
the nation, and it also acts as a department of public works. 
In the latter capacity it superintends the construction of 
harbors, bridges, docks and breakwaters, and oversees the 
work of improving rivers and harbors, making them more 
suitable for navigation and expending therefor a large sum 
of money annually. This department has contributed 
greatly toward the advancement of education and science 
by conducting all of the exploring expeditions sent out by 
the government. 

Its Bitrcas. — The Department of War, like the other 
executive departments, is divided into bureaus, the heads 
of which are officers of the United States Army. The most 
important of these officers are the Adjutant-General, who 
conducts the correspondence relating to the business of 
the department, issues orders to the commanders of the 
various divisions of the army and receives the reports of 
officers actually engaged in military duty; the Inspector- 
General, who inspects the condition of the army at all 
places where any part of it may be located, and examines 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT BRANCHES 85 

the arms and general equipment of the soldiers, as well as 
the accounts of money spent on the maintenance of the 
forces ; the Quartermaster-General, who has control of the 
clothing and general army supplies ; the Commissary-Gen- 
eral, who superintends the purchase and distribution of 
food supplies for the army ; the Surgeon-General, who is 
the chief medical and surgical officer and superintends the 
work of the numerous surgeons attached to the different 
military commands ; the Chief of Engineers, under whose 
direction fortifications are constructed, bridges and docks 
are built, and harbors improved ; the Judge Advocate Gen- 
eral, the chief legal officer, who reviews all proceedings by 
court-martial and acts as the legal adviser of the depart- 
ment ; the Chief Signal Officer, whose subordinates do the 
work of sending messages by means of the heliograph and 
other systems of signals, as well as constructing telegraph 
lines when the army is actively operating in the field. 

The Army. — In ordinary tim£s of peace the army of the 
United States consists of about 26,000 men, in all branches 
of the service, commanded by the senior Major-General, 
who is Commander-in-Chief. In time of war the army is 
greatly increased in officers and men, but, as its numbers 
depend in such cases wholly upon the magnitude of the 
conflict, it follows that no general statement as to the size 
and organization of the army upon a war footing can be 
given which will be true in all cases. 

Navy Department. — The Navy Department was es- 
tablished April 30, 1798. The business of the department 
is distributed among eight bureaus, the heads of which are 
officers of the United States Navy. These bureaus are 
Yards and Docks, Equipment and Recruiting, Navigation, 
Ordnance, Construction and Repair, Steam Engineering, 



86 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

Provisions and Clothing, Medicine and Surgery. The gen- 
eral character of the duties performed by these bureaus is 
sufficiently indicated by their names, therefore no detailed 
explanation need be given. 

This department has charge of the Naval Academy at 
Annapolis and of the Naval Observatory at Washington. 
As a part of the work of the Navigation Bureau, it issues 
nautical charts, maps and books for the use of navigators. 
It also publishes a nautical almanac for the guidance of 
sailors. 

Interior. — It was not until the year 1849 that the In- 
terior Department was created to assume control of various 
matters connected with the internal affairs of the country 
which did not come within the sphere of any of the depart- 
ments existing at that time. The heads of the bureaus into 
which this department is divided are called Commissioners, 
except in two cases, in which they are designated as Super- 
intendents. 

General Land Office. — The Commissioner of the General 
Land Office has charge of all matters relating to the man- 
agement and disposal, by sale or otherwise, of the public 
lands of the United States. The importance of the trans- 
actions which have taken place through the medium of 
this bureau will be apparent when we consider that about 
two thirds of the entire area of the country has been public 
land, the title to which was originally vested in the United 
States. 

In the Revolutionary days there were but six of the orig- 
inal thirteen colonies whose boundaries were established 
and defined beyond question. These were New Hampshire, 
Rhode Island, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and 
Delaware, while the others claimed land extending west- 
ward to an indefinite limit, even in some cases to the Pacific 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT BRANCHES 8? 

Ocean. The question of the disposition of these lands was 
one of the obstacles which delayed the formation of the 
Union, as those States which had no lands were exceed- 
ingly jealous of the claims of the others; but the dispute 
was finally settled by the agreement that all of these lands 
should be ceded to the United States Government. 

In addition to the vast western territory, the title to which 
was acquired by cession from the States, the national gov- 
ernment obtained enormous tracts by the purchase of Flor- 
ida from Spain, of Louisiana from France and of Alaska 
from Russia, and still further additions were made as the 
result of the war with Mexico. 

All of this enormous territory has been under the control 
of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, and nearly 
all of it has been transferred to private ownership by that 
officer, acting under the direction of Congress. To accom- 
plish the distribution of this land among individuals, the 
government has resorted to a variety of expedients. It has 
donated to each State which has been created in this terri- 
tory one section of land in each township for the support of 
the common schools, and has liberally endowed State uni- 
versities and agricultural colleges in these States by setting 
apart large areas of public lands for the support of these 
institutions. 

Bounties of public lands have been given to the soldiers 
and sailors of the United States for their support when they 
have been honorably discharged from service, and extensive 
grants have been made to States to enable them to build 
roads and canals ; still other donations have been made to 
railroad companies for the purpose of aiding in the con- 
struction of railroads necessary for the development of the 
country. 



88 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

Many thousands of acres of the public lands of the United 
States have been sold for cash, and from this source the 
government has received several hundred millions of dol- 
lars. In other cases, lands aggregating thousands of acres 
have been donated to settlers upon their compliance with 
certain laws, which require persons receiving such grants 
to settle upon and improve the land. 

Pensions. — The Pension Bureau has charge of the grant- 
ing and payment of pensions to soldiers and sailors of 
the United States who have suffered injury or contracted 
disease while serving in its army or navy. A similar pro- 
vision is also made for the support of the widows and fam- 
ilies of soldiers and sailors. The government expends an- 
nually in the payment of pensions more than $100,000,000 
and the work of distributing this vast sum is performed 
under the direction of the Commissioner of Pensions, at the 
various pension agencies which have been established in dif- 
ferent parts of the country. 

Other Of/iees. — Other heads of bureaus of the Interior 
Department are the Commissioner of Patents, who super- 
intends the granting of patents to inventors ; the Com- 
missioner of Indian Affairs, who has control of the support, 
government and education of the Indians now living within 
our borders, the Indians being regarded as wards of the 
government ; the Commissioner of Railroads, who looks 
after the interest which the government has in several of the 
Pacific railroad companies, the government having aided 
in the construction of these railroads by grants of land and 
the loan of credit and money, which must be repaid by the 
companies ; and the Superintendent of the Census, who has 
charge of taking the census, which the Constitution requires 
shall be taken every ten years. Two other important bu- 
reaus are those of Education and of Geological Survey, the 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT BRANCHES 89 

former of which collects and distributes information upon 
educational matters, and the latter investigates the geolog- 
ical and mineralogical features of the different parts of the 
country and publishes reports giving the results of its in- 
vestigations. 

The Post Office Department. — Every one is more 
or less familiar with the workings of this department, for the 
reason that every citizen avails himself of its benefits in the 
transaction of his daily business. This department was 
established in 1789, but the Postmaster-General did not be- 
come a member of the Cabinet until President Jackson's 
administration in 1829. 

He has charge and control of the mail service of the 
government, which provides for the transmission of letters, 
newspapers, periodicals and small packages to all parts of 
the world, and has power to award contracts to railroad 
and steamship lines to do this work. He also establishes 
postoffices and appoints postmasters in places, where the 
salary paid does not exceed $1,000 per year. In other places 
the postmasters are appointed by the President and con- 
firmed by the Senate. 

Justice. — The Department of Justice has been repre- 
sented in the federal government ever since the year 1789, 
when the office of Attorney-General was created, but this 
officer did not become a member of the Cabinet until the 
year 1870. 

The Attorney-General is the chief legal officer of the 
government. He advises the President upon all legal mat- 
ters concerning which his opinion is sought ; controls and 
manages, on behalf of the government, all litigation in 
which the United States is interested, and directs Marshals, 
District Attorneys and other law officers of the government 
in the performance of their duties. 



90 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

Subordinate to him are several assistant attorneys-gen- 
eral, one of whom is detailed for service in the Interior 
Department and another for service in the Postoffice De- 
partment; also a Solicitor of the Treasury, who attends to 
some of the legal affairs of that department ; a Solicitor of 
the Internal Revenue, and an Examiner of Claims. The 
office of Attorney-General is one of the most important in 
the entire government, and it has been filled by some of the 
most eminent lawyers and statesmen of our country, among 
whom may be mentioned Theophilus Parsons, William 
Pinckney, Roger B. Taney, Caleb Cushing, Edwin M. 
Stanton and William M. Evarts. 

Agriculture.— The Department of Agriculture is of 
comparatively recent creation. It was organized in the 
year 1862, and in 1889 the Secretary of Agriculture became 
a member of the Cabinet. The particular duty of this de- 
partment is to take all necessary steps for promoting the 
agricultural interests of the country, which constitute the 
larger portion of the wealth of our people. To this end it 
maintains numerous bureaus for investigating the habits 
of insects and birds tliat injure the crops and determines 
the best method for the farmer to employ in order to pro- 
tect himself from these pests. 

It studies the various diseases with which cattle and 
horses are afflicted, and ascertains the causes and best 
methods of treating these evils, and protects the public 
from the sale of diseased meat, sometimes causing whole 
herds of cattle to be slaughtered in order to prevent the 
spread of contagious diseases. 

The department also conducts numerous agricultural ex- 
periments, such as raising silk worms, growing sorghum 
and beets for the manufacture of sugar, and testing seeds, 



EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT BRANCHES 91 

so that the best varieties may be distributed among the 
farmers. 

Weather Bureau. — The Weather Bureau, since the year 
1891, has been a branch of this department. This bureau 
maintains several hundred stations located in various parts 
of the country, where meteorological observations are made 
daily, and upon them are based predictions as to the state 
of the weather for the ensuing twenty-four hours. The 
work of this bureau is exceedingly useful to the people, 
because thereby notice is given of the approach of storms 
likely to be dangerous to vessels and likely to affect im- 
portant commercial and agricultural interests. 

Labor. — The Department of Labor became a separate 
department in the year 1888, having been, prior to that 
time, a bureau of the Interior Department. The duties of 
this department are solely to collect facts and statistics 
upon industrial questions, such as wages, strikes, convict 
labor and industrial depressions ; therefore, it is not neces- 
sary to speak in detail of its workings. 

Other Executive Officers. — This completes the list of 
the important branches of the executive department. There 
are several others, such as the Inter-State Commerce Com- 
mission, the Civil Service Commission and the Office of the 
Librarian of Congress, whose duties have been described 
elsewhere, and still others, such as the Fish Commission, 
which makes scientific observations concerning the habits 
of fishes, their foods and the methods of capturing them, 
and also progagates and distributes to all parts of the coun- 
try such fishes as are suitable for food, and the Government 
Printing Office, which prints the numerous reports of the 
different branches of the government and publishes the pro- 
ceedings of Congress. The head of this office is appointed 
by the President and is called the Government Printer. 



92 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

After this brief survey of the branches of the executive 
department and the enormous amount of business trans- 
acted through them, the conclusion is readily reached that 
so far as the masses of the people are concerned, this de- 
partment, more than any of the others, represents the 
power of the government and the practical results of its 
workings. All of these departments are centralized in the 
President, who is directly responsible to the people for the 
manner in which he discharges the trusts imposed upon 
him. 



CHAPTER X. 
THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY. 

The history of our civil institutions has no more inter- 
esting and instructive part than that which relates to the 
origin, growth and development of our judicial system and 
its influence in shaping the destinies of our country. 

These judicial records contain accounts of the action and 
conduct of men individually and of social and political 
organizations under varying conditions. Sometimes the 
controversies arise from avarice and ambitious rivalry, 
sometimes prompted by the competition of trade, and at 
other times they emanate from political contentions in- 
volving discussions of principles of statecraft and interna- 
tional regulations of universal application. 

In ancient and mediaeval times, the courts of law were 
instruments of oppression and injustice quite as frequently 
as they were a protection to the rights of individuals, but 
in the judicial system of the United States we find that the 
framers of the Constitution secured results which had be- 
fore that time existed only in the theoretical and specula- 
tive writings of philosophers. 

By the creation of the Supreme Court there was effected 
a practically complete separation of the legislative, execu- 
tive and judicial departments of the government, a condi- 
tion to which we have now become so accustomed, as to 

(93) 



94 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

render it difficult for us to realize to what extent the few 
paragraphs of the Constitution producing this result have 
excited the admiration of political and philosophical stu- 
dents.* 

The Supreme Court. — So much has been written in 
praise of this institution of our government that it is diffi- 
cult to find language which will exceed in the extravagance 
of its terms the utterances of distinguished writers in Eu- 
rope and America upon this subject. In speaking of the 
Supreme Court of the United States, it has been said : 

"No product of government, either here or elsewhere, 
has ever approached it in grandeur. Within its appro- 
priate sphere it is absolute in authority. From its man- 
dates there is no appeal. Its decree is law. In dignity 
and moral influence it outranks all other judicial tribunals 
of the world. No court of either ancient or modern times 
was ever invested with such high prerogatives. Its jurisdic- 
tion extends over sovereign States, as well as the humblest 
individual. It is armed with the right, as well as the power, 
to annul in effect the statutes of a State whenever they are 
directed against the civil rights, the contracts, the currency 
or the intercourse of the people. 

"Secure in the tenure of its judges from the influence of 
politics and the violence of prejudice and passion, it pre- 
sents an example of judicial independence unattainable in 
any of the States and far beyond that of the highest court 
in England. Its judges are the sworn ministers of the 
Constitution and are the High Priests of Justice. Ac- 
knowledging no superior, and responsible to their con- 
sciences alone, they owe allegiance to the Constitution and 
to their own exalted sense of duty. No institution of 



♦See Bryce's American Common wealth, Vol. I, Chap. 23. 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 95 

purely human contrivance presents so many features calcu- 
lated to inspire both veneration and awe."* 

Notwithstanding what has been said as to the marvellous 
wisdom displayed by the framers of the Constitution in 
their creation of this system, it would be a mistake to sup- 
pose that they were guided solely by their own original 
ideas upon the subject. Their wisdom was displayed by 
the fortunate and harmonious manner in which they took 
advantage of all that was best in the judicial systems of 
the colonies and adopted every precaution necessary to 
protect the dignity and independence of the court. 

The Judicial System. — The judicial power is vested 
in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as Con- 
gress may, from time to time, establish. Under the power 
thus given to establish courts, Congress has created the 
Circuit Court of Appeals, the Circuit Court and the Dis- 
trict Court, which, speaking generally, comprise the judi- 
cial system of the United States, but in addition to these 
there are also the Court of Claims, the Supreme Court of 
the District of Columbia and the Territorial Courts, each 
of which will be described in its proper place. 

That judges may be secure in their tenure of office and 
free from all influences which would tend to hinder them in 
the impartial discharge of their duties, it is provided that 
they shall hold their office during good behavior. This 
means that an appointment to the position of Judge of any 
of the United States courts is for life, provided the incum- 
bent properly performs the duties of his office. He can be 
removed from office by impeachment proceedings only. 
The Constitution also provides that the judges shall receive 



♦Carson's History of the Supreme Court of the United States. 



96 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

for their services a compensation which shall not be dimin- 
ished during their continuance in office. Thus it appears 
that these two provisions place a judge of a Federal Court 
in an absolutely independent position, the first giving him 
practically a life tenure in office, and the second guarantee- 
ing him an income which cannot be diminished. 

The Federal Courts deal only with cases coming within 
the scope of the enumeration contained in the second sec- 
tion of the third article of the Constitution, and these 
courts must not be confused with the courts which form a 
part of the government of each of the States, in which the 
ordinary disputes between citizens are settled. 

Jurisdiction. — Briefly stated, the courts of the United 
States have jurisdiction of the following classes of cases : 

i. All cases arising under the Constitution, laws and 
treaties of the United States. 

2. All cases affecting ambassadors, public ministers and 
consuls. 

3. All cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction. 

4. Controversies to which the United States shall be a 
party. 

5. Controversies between two or more States and between 
a State and the citizens of another State and between citi- 
zens of different States.* 

6. Controversies between citizens of the same State claim- 
ing lands under grants of different States. 

7. Controversies between a State, or the citizens thereof, 
and foreign states, citizens or subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers 
and consuls and those in which a State shall be a party, 

*The judicial power of the United States, although expressly extended to 
cases between a State and citizens of another State, has been modified by 
reason of the 11th amendment to the Constitution. See page 105. 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 

the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction, by which is 
meant that such cases may be commenced in the Supreme 
Court. In all other cases, the action must be commenced 
in the lower courts, and the decision of the Supreme Court 
upon the question involved can be obtained only by appeal- 
ing from the decision of the inferior court; therefore, in 
these cases, the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction 
only. 

Criminal Cases.— Another paragraph of the third arti- 
cle of the Constitution provides that the trial of all crim- 
inal cases, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by jury, 
and that such trial shall be held in the State where the crime 
has been committed. This clause of the Constitution was 
designed for the protection of citizens in two particulars. 
It secured for all time the right of trial by jury in all crim- 
inal cases, a right which had often been withheld in former 
years by tyrannical kings of Great Britain and which the 
people of this country had come to prize most highly. It 
means simply that no one can be convicted of any crime 
unless he is found guilty by a jury composed of twelve of 
his fellow-citizens, who are selected in the manner required 
by law, and all of whom must be absolutely unprejudiced 
toward the accused before entering upon the trial. 

This paragraph of the Constitution also protects the citi- 
zen who is accused of committing a crime from the injustice 
of being sent for trial to a distant place, where he may be 
unknown and friendless, and therefore deprived of the bene- 
fit of his previous good reputation in his own neighborhood, 
and where he will be involved in additional expense and 
trouble in making his defense. 

Organization of the Supreme Court.— The Supreme 
Court of the United States was organized pursuant to 
a law enacted by Congress in the year 1789, known as 



98 



FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 



the Judiciary Act, and at first was composed of one Chie 
Justice and five Associate Justices. Since that time changes 
have been made in the organization of the court as necessity- 
has required, and it is now composed of one Chief Justice 
and eight Associate Justices. All of these judges are ap- 
pointed by the President, and, with good behavior, hole 
their respective offices for life ; they can be removed by im- 
peachment proceedings only. The court holds daily ses 
sions, Saturdays and Sundays excepted, in the capitol build- 
ing at Washington, commencing in October of each year 
and continuing until the month of May, when it adjourns 
until the ensuing October. 

During the first years of its existence, the Supreme Court 
had but little work to do, and for many years not more than 
twenty-five cases were pending before it in each year ; but 
within the last half century the business of the court has 
increased enormously. At the present time it disposes of 
several hundred cases annually. The Supreme Court stands 
at the head of the judicial system, and its decisions are final. 

District Courts. — A systematic explanation of the Fed- 
eral judicial system requires that we next consider the 
District Courts, which form the lowest grade. To secure 
the administration of justice, the United States is divided 
into judicial districts, of which there are seventy-four at the 
present time, but this number is subject to change as Con- 
gress may think proper. In some cases the boundaries of a 
judicial district are identical with those of a State ; in other 
cases, a State is divided into two or three districts. For 
example, Illinois is divided into two districts, while Maine 
constitutes a district by itself. In each of these districts a 
court is established and a judge appointed to preside over 
the same. 

The jurisdiction of the District Courts includes crimes 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 99 

committed upon the high seas, all suits brought by officers 
of the United States, causes of action arising under the 
postal laws, all civil cases of admiralty and maritime juris- 
diction, suits brought by aliens for damages in violation of 
treaties or international laws, bankruptcy matters and a 
variety of other cases. 

Circuit Courts. — The next step in the formation of the 
judicial system is the grouping of these districts into nine 
circuits, the number being identical with the number of 
Supreme Court Judges. In each circuit a court, called the 
Circuit Court, is established, and a Circuit Judge is ap- 
pointed. For the purpose of holding this court, a justice of 
the Supreme Court is designated for each of these circuits, 
and he is required by law to visit his circuit at certain inter- 
vals. The Circuit Court may be held by the judge of the 
Circuit Court, by a justice of the Supreme Court, by the 
judge of any District Court in the circuit, or by any two of 
them, or by all of them together. 

The Circuit Courts have jurisdiction over all cases where 
the amount in dispute exceeds $500 and the parties to the 
controversy are citizens of different States, all suits arising 
under the patent and copyright laws, certain cases arising 
under the revenue law, and over many of the subjects which 
are within the jurisdiction of the District Courts. A com- 
plete enumeration of the matters over which Circuit Courts 
of the United States have jurisdiction would be of little in- 
terest or use to beginners in the study of government ; there- 
fore, it will not be attempted. 

Circuit Court of Appeals. — The Circuit Court of 
Appeals was created by act of Congress in 1891, for the 
purpose of relieving the Supreme Court from the work of 
considering appeals from the District and Circuit Courts in 
all cases except those in which the jurisdiction of the court 

LofC, 



100 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

is in issue, final sentences and decrees in prize cases, convic- 
tions of capital and otherwise infamous crimes, cases involv- 
ing constitutional questions and cases in which the con- 
struction of a treaty is involved. In all other cases appeals 
from the District and Circuit Courts must be taken to the 
Circuit Court of Appeals. 

The law creating this court also provides for the appoint 
ment of an additional judge in each of the circuits having 
the same power as Circuit judges of the United States, anc 
receiving the same salary. This additional appointment i: 
necessary in order to enable the Court of Appeals to prop- 
erly perform its work without taking the time of the Circuit 
and District judges from the performance of their duties, as 
already defined by law. 

The Circuit Court of Appeals consists of three judges anc 
the justice of the Supreme Court assigned to each circuit. 
The Circuit judges within the circuit and the several Dis 
trict judges within the circuit are all competent to sit a; 
judges of the Circuit Court of Appeals. A session of this 
court is held annually in the principal city of each district. 

Other Courts. — The government of the District of Co- 
lumbia is under the control of Congress, and, to administer 
justice in this District, Congress has created a Supreme 
Court, which has jurisdiction of all crimes and offenses com- 
mitted within the District, of all civil cases between parties, 
both or either of whom shall be a resident or found within 
the District, of all actions of a civil nature, of all seizures on 
land or water, and of all penalties or forfeitures made, aris 
ing or accruing under the laws of the United States. 

Congress has also created Territorial Courts, which exer- 
cise a general jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters 
in the several Territories. The judges of these courts are 
appointed by the President, and, generally speaking, per 



THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY 101 

form duties similar to those of the judges of the various state 
courts. 

Besides the courts of justice which have already been de- 
scribed, there is a Court of Claims at Washington, whose 
duty it is to examine claims against the government for the 
payment of money in cases where there is a dispute. The 
creation of this court was a necessity, because no suit can be 
brought against the United States in any ordinary court. 
Nevertheless, there are numerous cases continually arising 
where justice requires that the claims of creditors of the 
government should be adjudicated and determined accord- 
ing to the rules of law, and to make suitable provision for 
this class of cases, the Court of Claims has been created. 



CHAPTER XL 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

One of the fundamental principles of a democratic form 
of government, as enunciated by the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, is the right of the people, who are the source of 
all power, to alter the governmental requirements whenever 
it is necessary to do so, in order to accomplish more perfectly 
the objects for which the government exists. The Declara- 
tion of Independence also sets forth the right of the people 
tc abolish a government which fails to protect its subjects 
in the enjoyment of their rights of life, liberty and the pur- 
suit of happiness. It was because the English government 
was destructive of these ends, that our forefathers deter- 
mined to institute a new government, laying its foundations 
upon principles which tend to protect the rights and ensure 
the safety and happiness of the people. 

How the Constitution May Be Amended.— The 
right of the people of the United States to alter the form of 
their government is secured to them by the provisions of 
the Constitution relating to the amendment of that instru- 
ment. Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed 
by Congress whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem 
it advisable, or by a convention called for the purpose of 
proposing amendments. It is the duty of Congress to call 
such convention on the application of the legislatures of 
two thirds of the several States. Each amendment thus far 

(102) 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 103 

made to the Constitution has been proposed by the first 
method. 

After an amendment has been proposed, it must be sub- 
mitted for approval to the legislatures of the several States, 
or to conventions to be called in each State, according as 
one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by 
Congress. An amendment must be ratified by three fourths 
of the States before it can become a part of the Constitu- 
tion. All amendments to the Constitution have been rati- 
fied by the first method, no convention ever having been 
called, either for proposing or ratifying amendments. 

Two restrictions upon the power of amendment were im- 
posed by the Constitution — one, owing to the final settle- 
ment of the controversy concerning slavery, is no longer a 
matter of interest ; the other provides that no State without 
its consent shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the 
Senate.* 

Fifteen amendments to the Constitution have been made, 
although a larger number was considered during the period 
when the adoption of the Constitution was under discussion 
by the people of the several States. 

First Ten Amendments.— The first ten amendments 
were proposed in Congress during its first session, and went 
into effect December 15, 1791. These amendments were 
adopted because the Constitution contained no Bill of 
Rights, such as is set forth in the constitutions of most of 
the States.** 

A Bill of Rights may be defined as a declaratory statute 
setting forth certain inalienable rights of the people, in the 
enjoyment of which they are to be forever protected by the 



♦See Article V of Constitution. 

♦♦Bryce's American Commonwealth, Vol. I, page 27. Fiske's Civil Gov- 
ernment, page 255. 



104 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

government, and thereby placing well defined restrictions 
upon the powers of the government and its officers. The 
term was first applied to the statute enacted by the English 
Parliament in the year 1689, containing the conditions, under 
which the crown of England was offered to William and 
Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange, after the abdication 
and flight of King James II. These conditions were ac- 
cepted, and ever since that time the Bill of Rights has 
formed a part of the constitution of Great Britain. It has 
exercised a most important influence upon the political in- 
stitutions of England, because, since its enactment, every 
sovereign of England has been compelled to base his claim 
to the throne upon some act of Parliament, thus effectually 
disposing of claims to rulership by virtue of divine or hered- 
itary rights.* 

The first ten amendments correspond in their terms to 
some of the provisions of the Bill of Rights, just described, 
but it is generally conceded that the language of the amend- 
ments is more forcible and concise than that of the Bill of 
Rights. These amendments secure to the people the right 
of freedom of religion, of speech and of the press, the right 
to assemble and petition the government for a redress of 
grievances, and the right to keep and bear arms and to be 
secure in their persons, houses and property, from unreason- 
able arrests, searches and seizures. The quartering of 
troops in the houses of citizens in time of peace is forbidden. 
The right of trial by jury in criminal and civil cases is guar- 
anteed, and in case of capital crimes, no person can be held 
answerable except on a presentment or indictment of a 
grand jury. A person cannot be put in j.eopardy more than 
once for the same offense, and cannot be compelled to be a 

*Green's History of the English People, Bk. VIII, Chap. III. 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 105 

witness against himself in any criminal case. The taking of 
private property for public use without just compensation 
is prohibited, excessive bail cannot be demanded, and cruel 
and unusual punishment must not be inflicted. 

The theory upon which our government is based is em- 
phasized by the ninth amendment, which declares that still 
other rights are retained by the people, whether enumerated 
in the Constitution or not, and further by the tenth amend- 
ment, which reserves to the States or to the people all pow- 
ers not expressly delegated by the Constitution to the gen- 
eral government nor prohibited by it to the States. 

Eleventh Amendment. — The eleventh amendment was 
proposed in Congress in 1794, but was not in force until 
January 8, 1798. The circumstances which led to the adop- 
tion of this amendment are worthy of notice, because its 
provisions place an important restriction upon the judicial 
power of the Federal Government" and enable a State to 
repudiate its debts if so disposed. 

In the year 1793, a citizen of North Carolina brought a 
suit against the State of Georgia, relying upon Section 2 of 
Article III. of the Constitution, by which a controversy be- 
tween a State and a citizen of another State is included 
within the judicial power of the United States. The court 
decided in favor of the citizen of North Carolina, but the 
decision caused so much dissatisfaction that the eleventh 
amendment was enacted so as to prevent a State from being 
sued against its will.** 

Twelfth Amendment. — The twelfth amendment orig- 
inated with Alexander Hamilton. It was proposed by Con- 
gress in 1803 and went into effect in 1804. This amend- 



*See Sec. 2, Article III, of Constitution. 

**This was the case of Chisholm v. The State of Georgia. 2 Dallas Reports, 
page 419. 



106 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

ment modified the method of voting by the electors for 
President and Vice President.* 

Originally the ballots of the electors did not designate the 
name of the person voted for as President and Vice Presi- 
dent, respectively, but each elector wrote on his ballot the 
names of two persons, only one of whom could be a resident 
of the same State as the elector. The candidate having the 
largest number of votes, provided it was a majority of the 
whole number cast, was elected President, and the person 
having the next largest number was elected Vice President. 

No inconvenience occurred in the use of this plan in the 
first two presidential elections, because Washington was the 
only candidate for President, and was the unanimous choice 
of the people for that office, but in 1796 the election was 
contested. John Adams was the candidate of the Federal- 
ists and Thomas Jefferson of the Anti-Federalists or Re- 
publicans.** 

In those days the electors exercised some individual dis- 
cretion and independence in voting and were not bound to 
vote for their party candidates to the same extent as at 
present. There were dissensions in the Federalist party, 
which prevented some of the electors chosen by that party 
from voting for Thomas Pinckney, their candidate for Vice 
President.*** As a result of these conditions, John Adams 
was chosen President, while his most bitter political oppo- 
nent, Thomas Jefferson, was elected Vice President.**** 

At the next election in 1800 the defects of the system then 
in use were again apparent. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron 



♦See Constitution, Article II, Sec. 1, Par. 3. 

♦♦The Republican party of Jefferson's time must not be confused with the 
present party of that name. Jefferson is usually regarded as the founder of 
the present Democratic party. See Chapter XII. 

♦♦♦Morse's Life of Jefferson, page 173. 

♦♦♦*The vote was: Adams, 71; Jefferson, 68; Pinckney, 59; Burr, 30, and 
the rest scattering. 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 107 

Burr were the candidates of the Republicans for "President 
and Vice President, and each received an equal number of 
votes. There being no election by the electors, it devolved 
upon the House of Representatives to choose a President. 
So ardently was Jefferson hated by his political opponents 
that plans w r ere formed by them and intrigues developed to 
prevent his election to the presidency, which at one time 
threatened the peace of the country. The controversy was 
finally settled by the election of Jefferson, but to prevent 
the recurrence of these dangers the twelfth amendment to 
the Constitution was adopted.* 

Thirteenth Amendment. — For the next sixty years 
no further amendment of the Constitution was found neces- 
sary, but with the close of the Civil War and the abolition of 
slavery in this country the necessity of embodying the re- 
sults of that struggle in the supreme law of the land caused 
the adoption of the thirteenth amendment, whereby neither 
slavery nor involuntary servitude is permitted to exist in the 
United States or any place subject to its jurisdiction. This 
amendment was proposed by Congress in February, 1865, 
and w r as promptly ratified by the requisite number of States, 
so that it went into effect in December of the same year. 

Fourteenth Amendment. — The fourteenth amendment 
was rendered necessary by the conditions which prevailed 
in the Southern States after the close of the Civil War, dur- 
ing what is known as the Reconstruction Period. During 
that period, these States enacted laws which almost had the 
effect of again reducing the negroes to slavery by imposing 
upon them harsh conditions, with which they must comply 
in order to live within these States, and inflicting upon them 
severe penalties for the violation of labor contracts. These 

♦Morse's Life of Jefferson, Chap. XII. 



108 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

States also voted pensions to Confederate soldiers and their 
families, and filled important State offices with former offi- 
cers of the Confederacy. Such acts as these displayed a 
temper and disposition toward the Federal Government 
which required governmental restraint. 

Accordingly the fourteenth amendment was proposed by 
Congress June 16, 1866, and submitted to the States for 
ratification. The amendment is lengthy and only the sub- 
stance of it can be stated. It was intended to protect the 
negroes in their rights of citizenship, and substantially de- 
fines what is meant by citizenship in the United States, and 
prohibits the States from abridging the rights of citizens. If 
the right to vote is denied to any qualified voter, a corre- 
sponding reduction is made in the State's representation in 
Congress, and certain classes of persons who had been lead- 
ers in the Confederacy are made ineligible to hold national 
or state offices, until their disability has been removed by a 
vote of two thirds of each House of Congress. This amend- 
ment also secured the validity of the public debt of the 
United States, and forbade the recognition of any debt or 
liability incurred in aid of the Rebellion/" 

Tennessee was the only one of the seceding states which 
promptly ratified this amendment, and, as a consequence, 
the Southern States were placed under military rule until 
such time as they saw fit to comply with certain conditions, 
among which was the ratification of this amendment. The 
fourteenth amendment went into effect July 28, 1868, having 
been ratified by the requisite number of States, including 
all of the seceding States except Virginia, Mississippi and 
Texas. These three States were required to ratify the four- 

*See Andrews' History of the United States— Vol. IV, pages 190-107— for an 
account of the causes which led to the adoption of these amendments. 



AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION 109 

teenth and fifteenth amendments before they could resume 
their place in the Federal Union. 

Fifteenth Amendment. — The fifteenth amendment 
became operative March 30, 1870. It was designed to still 
further protect the negroes in exercising the right to vote, 
and needs no detailed explanation. 



CHAPTER XII. 
POLITICS IN A DEMOCRACY. 

The word politics, in its broadest sense, means the science 
of government. It deals with the question of statecraft and 
the regulation of the public affairs of a nation, the preserva- 
tion of its safety, peace and prosperity, the defense of its 
rights and territory from foreign control and conquest, and 
the increase of its own strength and resources. One who 
is well versed in this science is a politician in the highest 
sense of the word. The word politician, as just defined, is 
synonymous with that of statesman. 

Both of these words have another and a narrower mean- 
ing. In the latter sense, politics means the management of 
a political party, the conduct of elections, the contests of 
parties relating to public questions and the selection and 
advancement of candidates for public office. 

Viewing politics in this sense, the word politician means a 
man who is devoted to the advancement of himself and his 
associates in public office and who strives for the success of 
the political party to which he belongs. 

Both words have still another signification, which is quite 
commonly attached to them, especially by persons who do 
not understand the real meaning of the terms. In a bad 
sense politics means the artful or dishonest management of 
public affairs with a view to securing the success of a par- 
ticular candidate or party, regardless of the welfare of the 
nation or State. It signifies political trickery. In this case, 

(110) 



POLITICS IN A DEMOCRACY 111 

a politician means a man who makes it his principal business 
to be occupied with the management of political parties and 
who is ready to do anything which he believes to be for his 
own personal interest. 

Citizens living under a popular form of government 
should be interested in politics and public questions, that an 
enlightened public opinion may be created and maintained 
which will correct the faults of government, guide the acts 
of public officers and counteract the evils which are likely to 
result from the dishonest or incompetent management of 
public affairs. 

Discussion of political questions generally develops dif- 
ferences of opinion, even upon the simplest governmental 
propositions. This is followed by a union of those who 
think substantially alike upon questions at issue so as to 
secure the ascendency of their ideas and the election to 
public office of candidates who will carry out a particular 
political policy. In this way political parties are created 
and organized with acknowledged leaders and governed 
by well-defined rules in every state, city and municipality 
throughout the country. 

Political Parties and Their Origin. —Political par- 
ties are organizations of citizens, voluntarily formed in 
order to secure the success of particular candidates, and the 
triumph of certain party principles which are embodied in 
a statement called the party platform. 

Since the formation of our government, differences of 
opinion have existed among citizens upon governmental 
questions. Consequently the formation of political parties 
commenced with the first session of Congress held after the 
adoption of the Constitution, and the discussion of questions 
of taxation developed the issue upon which citizens divided. 
We have seen that the failure of government under the 



112 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

Articles of Confederation was due largely to the fact that the 
general government had no power to raise money by taxa- 
tion. Accordingly, one of the first problems which pre- 
sented itself to the new government was to devise a system 
of taxation which would secure sufficient revenue to meet 
the expenses of government, and at the same time would not 
prove too burdensome to an impoverished people. 

Hamilton's Measures. — Alexander Hamilton was the 
first Secretary of the Treasury and upon him developed the 
duty of solving the problem. The task was a delicate one, 
owing to the fact that many people had seriously opposed 
the adoption of the Constitution, because they feared that 
taxation under the Federal Government would be excessive 
and ruinous to citizens already overburdened with local 
taxes. 

The methods of taxation introduced by Hamilton were 
substantially the same as those employed at the present 
time — namely, duties on imported goods and internal reve- 
nue taxes upon a few articles of domestic production, such 
as whisky and tobacco. The system of indirect taxation, by 
levying a duty on imported goods, excited no opposition on 
the part of the people, because it is a tax which is paid in the 
form of an enhanced price placed upon the imported goods. 
This method of taxation has been constantly in use as a 
means of raising a national revenue, solely because the peo- 
ple who pay the taxes do not realize that they are doing so, 
and consequently make no complaint of the burdens of 
taxation. 

The system of internal revenue taxation devised by Ham- 
ilton provoked serious opposition from the outset, which 
culminated in the Whisky Rebellion in Western Pennsyl- 
vania. This insurrection was quelled by the Federal army, 



POLITICS IN A DEMOCRACY 113 

and thereafter the opposition adopted the more reasonable 
methods of discussion to accomplish its objects. 

The measures recommended to Congress by Alexander 
Hamilton covered a variety of subjects bearing upon the 
policy to be pursued by the new government, such as the 
raising and collection of revenue, estimates of the income 
and expenditures of the government, the regulation of the 
currency, navigation laws, the Post Office department and 
the public lands. Dealing more particularly with the finan- 
cial policy of the government, he devised the system of 
taxation already mentioned, made an exhaustive report upon 
the public credit, wherein he prepared a plan for refunding 
and finally paying the entire indebtedness of the United 
States, as well as the debts contracted by the different States 
during the Revolutionary War. 

Opposition to Hamilton's Policy. — The reports which 
Hamilton, in a comparatively short time, presented to 
Congress generally received the approval of that body, 
and, embodied in laws, formed a comprehensive system of 
public policy.* These measures were not adopted with- 
out serious discussion, which frequently developed bitter 
opposition, but this debate did not at first cause the for- 
mation of two well-defined and compact political parties, 
although such was the final result of the controversy. 

During Washington's administration the leadership of 
those opposed to the measures advocated by Hamilton came 
to be centered in Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State. It 
is difficult to say exactly when this took place, but the differ- 
ences of opinion between these two statesmen began to be 
generally known in the winter of 1791-92. 

Express and Implied Powers. — The opposition to 
the public policy of Hamilton was based chiefly upon the 



♦Lodge's Life of Hamilton, Chapter V. 



114 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

argument that Congress did not have power under the Con- 
stitution to enact the measures which he recommended. 
The government of the United States possesses only those 
specific powers which are enumerated in the Constitution. 
When it is first proposed that the government shall exercise 
a particular power, the question is always raised as to 
whether or not the provisions of the Constitution will per- 
mit. 

Thus, when Hamilton recommended the establishment 
of a national bank, his opponents urged that the power 
of establishing and maintaining such an institution was not 
granted to the government by the Constitution. The sup- 
porters of Hamilton met this argument by asserting that in 
addition to the powers expressly enumerated in the Consti- 
tution, the government has certain implied powers. In 
support of their contention, they cited the provision of the 
Constitution, which gives to Congress authority to make 
all laws necessary and proper for carrying into effect the 
powers delegated to the general government, which is 
sometimes called the Elastic Clause of the Constitution. 

Federalists and Anti-Federalists. — The discussion be- 
tween Hamilton and his opponents, led by Jefferson and 
Madison, resulted in the formation of two political parties, 
representing two theories as to the proper construction of 
the Constitution. One of these parties, of which Hamilton 
was the leading representative, favored a "loose" construc- 
tion of the Constitution, giving to the government extensive 
implied powers. This was called the Federalist party. The 
members of the other party contended for a "strict" con- 
struction of the Constitution, allowing the general govern- 
ment to exercise only those powers which had been granted 
to it in specific terms. Jefferson was the acknowledged 



POLITICS IN A DEMOCRACY 115 

leader of this party. At first it was called the Anti-Federal- 
ist party, but within a few years it assumed the name Repub- 
lican. 

Successive Party Names. — Since the days of Jefferson 
and Hamilton the American people have been divided into 
two great parties along practically the same lines, although 
the names of the parties have been changed from time to 
time. The party founded by Hamilton was called Federal- 
ist until 1828, when for four years it was designated as the 
National Republican. In 1832 it became known as the 
Whig party, a name which endured until 1854, when it be- 
gan to be called the Republican party, the name which it 
bears to-day. The party of which Thomas Jefferson was 
the founder continued to use the name Republican until 
about 1828, and from that time to the present it has been 
called the Democratic party. 

Each of these parties, when in power, has been more or 
less inconsistent in applying to actual governmental 
problems the fundamental principles on which their re- 
spective organizations were based, but the history of our 
country shows that for the most part the differences between 
them may be traced to the original controversy between 
Hamilton and Jefferson. 

The study of the two great political parties of the present 
day is divided into two branches — the party organization 
and the nominating conventions. 

Party Organization. — The control of party affairs is 
vested in different committees, the members of which are 
chosen by the party through its representatives assembled in 
convention. The most important committee is the National 
Committee, which is made up of one representative from 
each of the States and Territories. This committee repre- 
sents the party in all national matters, attends to its inter- 



116 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

ests in presidential and congressional elections and calls to- 
gether the National Convention, designating the time and 
place for its meeting. 

Each party also has a State Committee, which, in some 
States, is composed of a representative from each county, 
and in others of a representative from each congressional 
district. This committee has general control of the affairs 
of the party throughout the State and calls together the 
State Conventions. 

In the same way, each party has a County Committee in 
every county. In every political division of the State, in- 
cluding cities, towns, villages, wards, congressional and sen- 
atorial districts, there is a committee which looks after the 
interests of the party which it represents in all political mat- 
ters within its jurisdiction. 

Generally speaking, political committees are charged with 
the duty of promoting the interests of their respective par- 
ties at all elections. They must raise the money with which 
to pay necessary expenses, see that all voters belonging to 
the party are registered, so that they can vote on election 
day, arrange for meetings at which their candidates can ad- 
dress the public, print and distribute such literature as will 
be beneficial to the party and its candidates, and in every 
way promote the interests committed to their care. 

Nominating Conventions. — All candidates for office are 
selected by nominating conventions, composed of delegates 
representing the different sections of the country, State, 
county, or city, as the case may be. For example, candi- 
dates for President and Vice President are nominated by the 
National Convention of each political party. A National 
Convention meets every four years. It is composed of dele- 
gates from all the States, each State sending twice as many 
delegates as it has representatives in the national Senate 



POLITICS IN A DEMOCRACY 117 

and House of Representatives. The National Convention 
frames and adopts a declaration of party principles called 
the party platform, and elects the members of the National 
Committee for the ensuing four years. 

State conventions meet as often as an election for state 
officers occurs. They are composed of delegates from the 
different counties of the State, the number of delegates from 
each county being dependent upon the number of votes 
cast for the party candidates at the last preceding general 
election. State conventions nominate candidates for State 
officers, adopt a party platform and provide for the election 
of a State Committee. 

The same principles are applied in selecting the commit- 
tees and holding the conventions in each of the political 
subdivisions into which the State is divided, so that 
throughout the entire country each party has a series of 
committees, each of which acts independently within its 
own territory, but which, taken together, constitute a com- 
plete and systematic organization. 

Primaries. — Delegates to the National Convention are 
generally chosen by the State conventions of the respective 
States, but delegates to all other conventions are selected 
by the members of the party which they represent, assem- 
bled in a mass-meeting called a caucus, or at elections held 
in the various precincts or election districts. Such an elec- 
tion is called primary and, generally speaking, it is held in 
the manner and under the conditions imposed by the elec- 
tion laws of the various States. 

By this method, every voter can participate in the election 
of delegates to the various nominating conventions and, 
through these delegates, has a voice in the election of can- 
didates for every office within the gift of the people. 

It is the duty of every good citizen, who is qualified to 



118 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 

vote, to take part in primary elections and thereby help to 
secure the nomination of worthy candidates. 

It is the duty of every political party to make strenuous 
efforts to educate its members upon political subjects, to the 
end that they may comprehend the purpose and intent of 
the national and State Constitutions, as well as the spirit of 
the laws which give effect to their provisions. 

END OF PART ONE. 






PART II . 

Government of Illinois. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
EARLY GOVERNMENT 

In our study of the civil institutions of the United States 
we have seen that, to know fully the history of their origin 
and growth, we must commence our investigation in remote 
periods of the past, long before the discovery of this conti- 
nent, when men first began to realize that governments were 
but the creations of the people, and that all should partici- 
pate in governmental affairs. 

We have learned that the principles of representative gov- 
ernment were first applied in the small German and Scandi- 
navian communities of Northern Europe, that they were 
transplanted to England by the Anglo-Saxon invaders, and 
that after centuries of tyranny and misrule they came into 
full recognition as a result of the struggle between Henry 
III. and his barons under the leadership of Simon de Mont- 
fort, Earl of Leicester. 

Several hundred years afterward, similar principles were 
brought into use in the cabin of the Mayflower, when the 
Pilgrim Fathers signed their names to the compact which 
formed the basis for the government of the struggling col- 
ony of Plymouth. 

In the same manner, to understand the local govern- 

(119) 



120 STATE GOVERNMENT 

mental institutions of the State of Illinois and to appre- 
ciate the theories upon which they are based, we must 
commence our study at a period long prior to the date of its 
first settlement and learn how these institutions came into 
use in other localities and, being found suitable for the gov- 
ernment of a free and enlightened people, were transplanted 
from the older communities of New England and the South 
to the virgin prairies of our own State. 

It must not be forgotten that the results of the centuries 
of struggle for popular government carried on by our 
Anglo-Saxon and English forefathers are quite as much the 
heritage of the citizens of Illinois as those of Massachu- 
setts or Virginia. Moreover, all that has been said relating 
to the origin and development of the distinctive features of 
our government is directly applicable to the civil institu- 
tions of Illinois, as will become apparent when we consider 
how and by whom the State was settled and under what 
conditions its first governmental relations were framed. 

Early Settlements. — The State of Illinois forms a part 
of the vast and indefinitely bounded territory which was 
claimed by England as a result of Cabot's voyage of dis- 
covery in 1498. The southern portion of its territory was 
included in the original grant of land from the British crown 
to the founders of the colony of Virginia, while still other 
portions were claimed by New York, Massachusetts and 
Connecticut. 

The earliest settlements in the State were made by the 
French under the leadership of LaSalle, Marquette, Joliet 
and others, who explored almost the entire territory from 
Lake Michigan to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Colo- 
nies were established by these leaders at Kaskaskia, Caho- 
kia, Peoria and other places, and the territory was included 
in the vast domain which was named Louisiana, in honor of 



EARLY GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 121 

Louis #XIV. of France. Other French settlements were 
made until there were several thousand inhabitants in the 
territory in the year 1763, when France was obliged to 
relinquish to England all her claims, as a result of the 
French and Indian War. 

Still the local government of the country remained in the 
hands of the French, subject to the military control of the 
English, until the year 1778, when all of the principal set- 
tlements were visited by a band of enterprising and adven- 
turous Virginians, who compelled the inhabitants to swear 
allegiance to the colony of Virginia. Had it not been for 
this conquest by the Virginians, the entire Northwest would 
have been in British hands at the close of the Revolution, 
and, like Canada, might have remained an English province. 

A Virginia County. — From this time until 1784, the 
territory which now composes the State of Illinois, including 
the entire region north of the Ohio and east of the Missis- 
sippi, was governed loosely as a county of Virginia by of- 
ficers appointed by the governor of Virginia, and in this 
way many of the local regulations and customs of Virginia 
were impressed upon these pioneer settlements. 

By cession from Virginia in 1784 Illinois became the prop- 
erty of the Federal Government. 

From the close of the Revolutionary War until the year 
1787 the civil government of Illinois was neglected by both 
Virginia and the United States Government to such an ex- 
tent that local affairs were entirely without regulation. Such 
courts as had been established by Virginia ceased to per- 
form their functions, public officers did not discharge their 
duties and lawless individuals plundered the people at will. 

Ordinance of 1787. — Thus the urgent necessity of pro- 
viding some form of government for the inhabitants of this 
territory became apparent, and Congress was busy with this 



122 STATE GOVERNMENT 

problem from March i, 1784, when a committee, of which 
Thomas Jefferson was chairman, was appointed to prepare 
a plan for the temporary government of the Northwest 
Territory, until July 13, 1787, when the famous Ordinance 
of 1787 was enacted by Congress, which marks the begin- 
ning of civil government in Illinois. 

This celebrated law, the object of which was to provide a 
government for the territory north of the Ohio River, called 
the Northwest Territory, has been the subject of so many 
encomiums that it deserves more than a passing mention 
in this connection. In speaking of it Daniel Webster said : 
"I doubt whether one single law, ancient or modern, has 
produced effects of more distinct, marked and lasting char- 
acter than the Ordinance of 1787." Equally significant are 
the words of Chief Justice Chase of the United States Su- 
preme Court, who said : "Never, probably, in the history of 
the world did a measure of legislation so accurately fulfill 
and yet so mightily exceed the anticipations of the legisla- 
tors." 

This law provided a temporary form of government for a 
vast and partially unexplored territory, sparsely inhabited 
by Indians, half-breeds, Frenchmen, pioneers and adventur- 
ers from the Eastern States and from other parts of the 
world. Owing to its great length and the number of its 
provisions, a detailed statement of its contents will not be 
attempted. 

The chief merit of the enactment was due to the fact that 
it embodied in the fundamental law of this territory many 
of the principles which had been announced in the Declara- 
tion of Independence, and thus secured to the inhabitants 
and their posterity all the benefits, both social and polit- 
ical, which had been derived from the enlightened theories 
of the signers of the Declaration, 



EARLY GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 123 

Among these benefits may be mentioned, the right to 
freedom of opinion and worship, trial by jury, the writ of 
habeas corpus and proportionate representation. In addi- 
tion to these, the provision forbidding slavery in the terri- 
tory and the law of inheritance by which the property of an 
intestate descended equally to his children were important, 
because they prevented the formation of a landed aristoc- 
racy and secured a body of citizens upon a reasonable basis 
of equality in the ownership of land. 

The form of government provided by this ordinance was 
not particularly liberal in the matter of allowing the people 
to exercise the right of local self-government. The governor 
was appointed by Congress and vested with authority to fill 
all of the minor offices. Three judges were also appointed, 
who, with the governor, were given the power of making 
the laws until such time as the territory had a population of 
5,000 inhabitants. This population having been attained, 
the territory was authorized to elect a general assembly, 
but the elective franchise could be exercised only by citizens 
who owned at least fifty acres of land, and a representative 
was required to be a citizen of the United States, a resident 
of the district from which he was elected and the owner of at 
least two hundred and fifty acres of land. From time to 
time these provisions were modified by amendments, and 
the people were gradually given greater rights, until in 
181 1 the right of suffrage was extended to all those who 
paid a tax and had resided in the district one year. 

The Territory of Illinois. — As the Northwest Terri- 
tory increased in population and wealth, it was divided and 
the States of Ohio, Michigan and Indiana were created from 
it. By the Act of Congress of February 3, 1809, the Terri- 
tory of Illinois was organized and a form of territorial gov- 
ernment was provided. By this act the name of Illinois was 



124 STATE GOVERNMENT 

restored, which had been abandoned ever since the enact- 
ment of the Ordinance of 1787. 

For nine years Illinois remained a Territory. On April 18, 
1818, Congress passed a law* enabling its people to form 
a State constitution, which was done by a constitutional 
convention assembled at Kaskaskia, and the work was com- 
pleted on August 26 of that year. With the adoption of this 
constitution Illinois was ready to take its place among the 
States of the Union, and by resolution of Congress, on 
December 13, 1818, it was admitted on an equal footing 
with the original States. 

With this brief survey of the government of Illinois prior 
to its admission into the Union, it becomes necessary to 
pause in our study of its local institutions and to consider 
certain conditions and instrumentalities which influenced 
the original form as well as the subsequent growth and de- 
velopment of its political affairs. 

Local Institutions. — The State of Illinois, extending 
from Lake Michigan to the Ohio River, has an extreme 
length from north to south of nearly 400 miles. The north- 
ern portion of the State is in the same latitude as the New 
England States and northern New York, the central por- 
tion corresponds in latitude with New Jersey and Maryland, 
while the southern part is on the same parallel as Virginia. 
These facts are important, because, as has been remarked 
by all writers who have observed the westward movement 
of the population, the migration from the Atlantic States to 
the interior has, as a general rule, followed the parallels of 
latitude. 

Accordingly, we find that from Virginia and Kentucky 
settlers crowded into the southern part of the new State of 



♦See Appendix B. 



EARLY GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 125 

Illinois, while the northern portion was peopled mainly by 
emigrants from New England and Xew York. Thus two 
somewhat dissimilar systems of local government were 
transplanted to the State of Illinois, one being based upon 
the local institutions of Virginia and the other derived from 
the political system of New England. 

The differences between these two plans of local govern- 
ment are quite marked, and in Illinois they were for the 
first time brought into contact with each other in the same 
State, as it was left to the inhabitants of each locality to de- 
termine for themselves under which system they preferred 
to live. 

When Illinois became a State the larger portion of the 
population was in the southern part, owing to the French 
settlements and the Virginia conquest, and naturally the 
southern system of local government was more generally 
in use than that of New England, but a few years prior to 
this time the flow of immigration from the south had been 
checked and gradually diverted to Missouri. This was due 
to the provision of the famous Ordinance of 1787 which 
forever prohibited negro slavery in the Northwest Terri- 
tory, or in any State created from it, thereby rendering it 
impossible for Illinois to come into the Union as a slave- 
holding State. 

Therefore, it followed upon its admission as a State that 
immigration to the northern portion increased more rapidly 
than to the southern, and the struggle for supremacy be- 
tween the two systems of local government commenced, 
which forms one of the most interesting features of the his- 
tory of civil government in our State. 

In order thoroughly to comprehend the rivalry between 
these two political systems, which has influenced to a 
marked degree the legislation and local government of Illi- 



126 STATE GOVERNMENT 

nois, it is necessary to study the organization of the New 
England town, which formed the basis of local government 
in the northern part of the State, and the Virginia county, 
which furnished the model for the people in the southern 
part, and for this reason the two succeeding chapters will 
be devoted to these subjects. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
THE NEW ENGLAND TOWN. 

The New England town and its annual meeting deserve 
a place in our study, because their influence in shaping the 
local government of Illinois has been potent and beneficial. 
This institution is, in the opinion of all writers upon the 
subject of civil government, the most perfect example of a 
government by the people that can be found in the political 
history of any nation, and the town meeting, as it existed 
in the early days and still exists in some New England 
communities, has been a nursery of patriotism, a school for 
the education of citizens and a safeguard for the preserva- 
tion of the liberties of the people. 

To understand fully the important part which the New 
England town has played in the political development of 
the State of Illinois, and how its essential features have been 
impressed upon the local government of that State, we 
must know in detail how it came into existence, for what 
purposes, and to understand its leading characteristics. 

Settlement of New England. — We have learned from 
the study of the history of our country that the early settlers 
of Massachusetts and the colonies which they formed were, 
in many respects, different from those of Virginia, Delaware, 
Georgia and others of the original colonies, to which fact is 
due, in a measure, the difference in the local institutions 
which they founded. Hence it becomes important to con- 
sider briefly the character and motives of the early settlers 

(127) 



128 STATE GOVERNMENT 

of New England and the conditions under which they 
lived, because therein will be found the reasons which 
prompted the construction and promoted the growth of 
their political system. 

The principal reason which impelled the pioneers of Mas- 
sachusetts to leave their homes in England and seek an 
abiding place in a wilderness was their desire to pursue 
without restriction their own ideas as to church government 
and religious worship. In England they had been under re- 
straint in respect to these matters, and having become dis- 
satisfied with the forms and ceremonies of the English 
church, and being prevented by the civil officers from car- 
rying out their own ideas in these particulars, they deter- 
mined to seek a home where they could do as they pleased 
without fear of molestation from church or king. 

Church Government. — They believed that the govern- 
ment of the church should be conducted by the members of 
the organization, and not in accordance with the dictates of 
the king or high church officials, and that religious worship 
should be simple in its forms and devoid of rites and cere- 
monies. They were students of the Bible and found in its 
lessons a guide for their daily life in their business and so- 
cial relations. Their pastor was net only the person who 
expounded the gospel for their edification on Sunday, but 
he was also the man to whom the entire community looked 
for guidance in worldly as well as spiritual things. 

Accordingly the immigration to New England was not 
one of individuals or families, but it was a movement of 
church congregations led by the pastors. These people set- 
tled in communities composed of individuals having the 
same ideas upon religious subjects and desirous of being 
under the leadership of the same pastor. 



THE NEW ENGLAND TOWN 129 

The Township. — The district in which they located was 
called a township, or town, that being the name to which 
they had been accustomed in England. The town was ir- 
regular in shape, there being no general system of surveys, 
and its limits were determined by the size of the community 
and the needs of the inhabitants. It was comparatively 
small in territory and compact in its settlement. 

There were good reasons for all of these peculiarities. The 
individual holdings of land were small, because the climate 
and soil were such as to prevent raising those crops which 
require large areas, like cotton, wheat or rice, and each 
family needed only a small tract of land as compared with the 
requirements of a southern planter or a western farmer. 
Another reason for the compactness of the community was 
the danger from the attacks of hostile Indians and the ne- 
cessity of providing for a common defense, and still another, 
and perhaps to them the most important of all, was the de- 
sire to have a common place of worship and to be under the 
ministrations of the same spiritual leader. 

Therefore we find these communities arranged so that 
the church may be as nearly as possible in the center of 
the population, and close by it was located the blockhouse 
or wooden fort in which the people could take refuge in 
case of an Indian attack. Sometimes the same building was 
both church and blockhouse, and constituted the defense of 
the people against both spiritual and physical foes. A little 
later, we find in a similarly central location another building 
destined to have a most important influence upon the future 
of the country — the schoolhouse. The Pilgrim Fathers were 
strong believers in the necessity of general education, but 
for reasons which would seem strange if advanced at the 
present day. The community was essentially religious, and 
the earliest school law enacted in this country provided for 



130 STATE GOVERNMENT 

the establishment of a school, so that the rising generation 
might read and understand the Bible, and so be protected 
from the machinations of "that old deluder, Satan," whose 
one chief project was "to keep men from the knowledge of 
the Scriptures. " 

It would be interesting and instructive to go further into 
the details of life in one of the early New England towns, 
but enough has been said to show the leading character- 
istics of the community. 

The Town Meeting. — The same ideas which con- 
trolled in church government were applied to temporal af- 
fairs, and therefore the civil government was administered 
by a meeting of all the male inhabitants of the town over 
twenty-one years of age. This meeting was regularly held 
once a year in the early spring time, usually in the month 
of March, and was called the town meeting. In this meet- 
ing every member had an equal voice and was at liberty to 
make motions and offer resolutions and take part in the 
discussion of any and all questions under consideration, 
such as the levying of taxes, the election of officers and the 
expenditure of public money. 

TownOfficers. — Selectmen. — The principal town officers 
were the Selectmen, usually three in number, but sometimes 
five or seven, according to the size of the town. These of- 
ficers, as their title shows, were men selected at the town 
meeting to administer the government of the community 
and to carry out the acts and resolutions of the people as 
expressed by the proceedings of the town meeting. 

As the time for the town meeting approached, the Select- 
men issued their warrant, or call, for the meeting, which was 
posted in the most conspicuous places throughout the town 
and designated the time and place for holding the meeting. 
On the appointed day the meeting was called to order by 



THE NEW ENGLAND TOWN 131 

the Clerk, who read the warrant issued by the Selectmen. 
The meeting then proceeded to elect a presiding officer, 
called the Moderator, and transacted its business in accord- 
ance with the usual parliamentary rules which govern public 
meetings. 

At these meetings, officers were elected for the ensuing 
year, taxes were levied, provision was made for public 
works, such as the improvement or construction of high- 
ways and bridges and the maintenance of schools and alms- 
houses. 

The Selectmen were the principal officers elected, and it 
was their duty to execute the mandates of the town meeting 
and to enforce the ordinances governing the community. 
They governed the town during the intervals between the 
town meetings, and acted as assessors of taxes, overseers of 
the poor, supervisors of highways and bridges, and in fact 
constituted the executive branch of the local government. 

Clerk. — The Town Clerk was an officer of great impor- 
tance. It was his duty to keep the records of the town meet- 
ings and of the meetings of the Selectmen, as well as a reg- 
ister of births, deaths, marriages and the location of high- 
ways, public surveys and other matters which are required 
to be recorded. 

Treasurer. — A Town Treasurer was also elected, who re- 
ceived all money belonging to the town, such as tax collec- 
tions and license fees, and paid it out as ordered by the Se- 
lectmen. 

School Committee. — The management of the public 
school was entrusted to a School Committee consisting usu- 
ally of three members. This committee determined how 
much money was needed for the support of the school, de- 
cided upon the location and erection of the school building, 
employed the teachers, prescribed the studies to be pursued, 



132 STATE GOVERNMENT 

selected the textbooks to be used, made frequent visits to 
the school and guarded its interests in every way. The 
people attached great importance to the education of the 
young, and the persons selected for the administration of so 
sacred a trust were chosen with a special view to their fitness 
to perform their duties. 

Other Officers. — Other officers selected at the town meet- 
ing were Constables, who served writs issued by the courts ; 
Poundkeepers, who had charge of the yards where stray 
animals were kept ; Fence Viewers, whose duty it was to set- 
tle disputes as to the location of boundary lines and fences 
between neighbors ; Surveyors of Lumber and Sealers of 
Weights and Measures, who examined the scales and meas- 
ures in use in the community, so that none might be de- 
frauded by the use of false weights and incorrect measures. 

There were also other officers having special duties to per- 
form, but enough have been enumerated to show that in the 
days of the town meeting the people in a body elected every 
officer to whom public duties were entrusted. There were 
no appointive offices, and the persons chosen for the re- 
spective positions were answerable only to the people for 
the manner in which they performed their duties. 

Influence of the Town Meeting. — Such, in brief, 
was the form of government which originally existed in all 
the New England communities and still exists unimpaired in 
many sections which have refused to abandon it for more 
pretentious governmental methods. In these meetings, all 
qualified persons took part and attendance was compulsory, 
failure to attend being punishable by fine. It was a complete 
exemplification of a government "of the people, for the 
people and by the people. " Its educational value to the 
citizens taking part in these deliberations was great, for in 
these meetings the humblest and poorest citizen had an 



THE NEW ENGLAND TOWN 133 

equal voice with wealthy and educated men in framing 
measures of public interest. All were on an equal basis, 
and the habits thus cultivated of giving personal attention 
to public affairs, of taking part in debate and giving ex- 
pression to individual ideas, however crude, were of ines- 
timable value in forming the characters of the citizens.* 

The Town of Boston. — Probably the best and most 
readily accessible example of what may be accomplished in 
the way of government by town meeting is to be found in 
the public records of the town of Boston, covering a period 
of about one hundred and eighty years from the organiza- 
tion of the town to the year 1822. At the last mentioned 
date, the town had a population of about 40,000 inhabitants, 
and the town meetings were so large as to be unwieldy and 
unmanageable. Therefore, the people abandoned this plan 
of government and obtained from the Massachusetts legis- 
lature a city charter, under which its public affairs were no 
longer managed by the body of the people, but by repre- 
sentatives chosen by them. 

For the first one hundred years the record consists of 
details relating to municipal questions, such as the loca- 
tion of streets, the appropriation of lands for burial pur- 
poses, a discussion of educational matters and the levying of 
taxes; but about the year 1761 a change is to be noted, and 
from that time the record becomes more and more inter- 
esting, being enlivened with numerous addresses to the 
King and Parliament, and protests against unwarrantable 
assumptions of power and authority by the royal officers. 

In fact, the town meeting of Boston was regarded by Eng- 
lish sympathizers as a hotbed of treason to the King and 

*A graphic and interesting account of the proceedings of a New England 
town meeting is contained in Chapter XXIII of Hosmer's Life of Samuel 
Adams, American Statesmen series. 



134 STATE GOVERNMENT 

the town of Boston, as a political center, was the particular 
object of hatred on the part of the royalists, because from 
these meetings emanated the discussion of those doctrines 
which afterward, embodied in the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, resulted in the emancipation of the colonies from the 
rule of Great Britain.* 

The Unit of Representation.— We have thus far consid- 
ered the town meeting as a means of local government, but 
it performed another function equally important as a part of 
the scheme of representative government. The New Eng- 
land town was the unit of representation. When the people 
came to take part in the wider government, which controlled 
the affairs of the entire colony and afterward of the State of 
Massachusetts, they did so through the medium of repre- 
sentatives elected by the citizens of the various towns, who, 
in the aggregate, formed the General Assembly, or legisla- 
tive body. It was also the unit for distributing the assess- 
ment of taxes — that is to say, having ascertained the 
amount necessary to be raised by taxation for public pur- 
poses, the General Assembly apportioned this amount 
among the various towns in proportion to their wealth and 
population. 

The system of government by township, the origin of 
which, in this country, has been briefly described, has been 
impressed upon the local government of a very large num- 
ber of States of the Union, whenever emigrants from the 
New England States have had a hand in framing the polit- 
ical institutions of the newly created State. The principal 
features of this system are preserved even in communities 
made up of citizens of foreign birth and extraction, who 
have readily adopted it as being best fitted for carrying out 
the principles of a democratic form of government. 



♦Hosmer's Life of Samuel Adams, Chapter I. 



CHAPTER XV. 
THE OLD VIRGINIA COUNTY. 

Another typical institution, which has had great influence 
in shaping the development of the political institutions of 
the State of Illinois, was the Virginia county, as it existed in 
the days prior to the Revolution. All writers are agreed 
that the various forms of local government prevailing in the 
United States have been the growth of either the township 
system, derived from the New England colonies, or the 
county system, which was first developed in the colony of 
Virginia. 

The Origin of the County.— The study of the county 
in its origin enables us to distinguish between those institu- 
tions which are directly traceable to the township form of 
government on the one hand and the county system on the 
other. Especially is this necessary in studying the civil gov- 
ernment of Illinois, because in that State either system is 
adopted for purposes of local government, according as the 
people may elect. 

The county, like the township, was of English origin, 
and was, in the first instance, used to designate the portions 
of England in which the early inhabitants dwelt. This is 
plainly shown by many of the county names which still 
exist in England. For example, the County of Essex was 
originally the home of the East Saxons, and the County of 
Middlesex was the abode of the middle Saxons. 

Those who have read English history will remember 

(135) 



136 STATE GOVERNMENT 

that still another German tribe invaded England called 
the Angles. These people and the Saxons were of similar 
origin, and the term "Anglo-Saxon" is used to designate 
the union of these tribes. From the Angles was derived the 
name of England, and after their settlement they were di- 
vided into two tribes known as "North Folk" and "South 
Folk," from which originated the two county names of Nor- 
folk and Suffolk. All these county names were imported 
to this country by the early settlers and one or more of 
them can be found in use to designate either a county or a 
city in nearly all of the original thirteen colonies. 

We shall not undertake to show how these counties were 
originally governed in England, as it is sufficient for the 
purposes of our study to note their English origin, and that 
the affairs of the English county were entrusted to officers 
having the same titles and performing the same duties as in 
our own State. Among these officers were the Sheriff, the 
Constable, the Justice of the Peace and the Coroner, all of 
whose functions will be hereafter described. 

The English Parish. — In process of time, the counties 
of England came to be subdivided into parishes for the pur- 
pose of local self-government. The parish was a territorial 
subdivision of the county, and its business was transacted at 
a meeting held periodically called the vestry meeting. The 
people taking part in this meeting were called the vestry. 
We find among the officers of the parish a Clerk, who per- 
formed duties for the parish similar to those performed by 
the Town Clerk for the township ; Church Wardens, whose 
special duties originally were to care for the church prop- 
erty and collect the taxes levied for religious and charitable 
purposes ; and there were many other officers who per- 
formed duties similar to those of the officers enumerated 
heretofore as a part of the system of township government. 



THE OLD VIRGINIA COUNTY 137 

Settlement of Virginia. — The conditions under which 
the colony of Virginia was settled were such as to prompt 
the importation of the county and parish system of govern- 
ment rather than the township system, which prevailed in 
New England. Among these conditions probably the most 
important was the character of the immigration. We have 
seen that New England was settled by church congregations 
who, emigrating together, settled in communities. But in 
Virginia the land was settled by individuals who received 
from the King grants of large tracts for the purpose chiefly 
of raising tobacco. Consequently the settlement of the 
colony was not in compact communities, but by isolated 
plantations. 

Social Conditions. — Theprincipal industry being the cul- 
tivation of tobacco, large areas of land were necessary and 
cheap labor was required. This led to the importation of 
slaves and their employment in the tobacco fields, and also 
to the transportation to the colony of criminals from the 
large English cities. Both of these elements in the pop- 
ulation had a degrading effect upon the community, as 
neither class was capable, by education or instinct, of taking 
part in the affairs of the local government. Class distinc- 
tions were, therefore, created, and the landowners consti- 
tuted an aristocracy, holding themselves aloof from their 
slaves and the lower classes of the white population. 

Another peculiarity of the Virginia colony, distinguishing 
it from those of New England, was the absence of towns, 
which was due not only to the large plantations already 
noted, but also to the fact that there were no manufacturing 
or commercial industries by which towns mainly exist and 
prosper. The eastern portion of the State contains a large 
number of navigable rivers which, with their branches, af- 
forded a ready means of communication between all the 



138 STATE GOVERNMENT 






different parts of the colony, and with the ocean, conse- 
quently the crops were moved directly to vessels which con- 
veyed them to Europe and supplies were received by the col- 
onists in the same manner, thus rendering it unnecessary 
for the community to rely upon local markets for the pur- 
chase of such articles of necessity as they were unable to 
raise upon their plantations. 

The following words of Mr. Thackeray depict in a graphic 
manner the social conditions which prevailed in colonial 
Virginia : 

"The whole usages of Virginia, indeed, were fondly mod- 
eled after the English customs. It was a loyal colony. The 
Virginians boasted that King Charles II. had been King 
in Virginia before he had been King in England. English 
King and English church were alike faithfully honored. 
They held their heads above the Dutch traders of New York 
and the money-getting Roundheads of Pennsylvania and 
New England. Never were people less republican than 
those of the great province which was soon to be foremost 
in the memorable revolt against the British crown. 

"The gentry of Virginia dwelt on their great lands after a 
fashion almost patriarchal. For its rough cultivation each 
estate had a multitude of hands — purchased and assigned 
servants — who were subject to the command of the master. 
The land yielded their food, live stock and game. The great 
rivers swarmed with fish for the taking. From their banks the 
passage home was clear. Their ships took the tobacco off 
their private wharves on the banks of the Potomac or the 
James River and carried it to London or Bristol, bringing 
back English goods and articles of home manufacture in re- 
turn for the only produce which the Virginian gentry chose 
to cultivate. Their hospitality was boundless. No stranger 
was ever sent away from their gates. The gentry received 






THE OLD VIRGINIA COUNTY 139 

one another and traveled to each other's houses in a state 
almost feudal. "* 

The Virginia Parish. — For these reasons probably, the 
parish system of local government was employed and the 
affairs of the community were governed by a vestry meeting 
with its church wardens and clerk. The body of the people 
were called the vestry, and at their annual vestry meeting 
they elected twelve vestrymen corresponding to the select- 
men of the township, whose duty it was to administer the 
affairs of the parish in the intervals between the vestry meet- 
ings. If these vestrymen had continued to be elected by 
the entire body of the people the system would have been a 
democratic one, but in process of time the vestrymen them- 
selves assumed the right to fill vacancies in their body, 
thereby perpetuating themselves in power and constituting 
in effect an oligarchy, or ruling class, which has always been 
damaging to the existence of republican institutions. 

That it was not subversive of these institutions in Virginia 
and other southern colonies, was due to the fact that the 
vestrymen were men actuated by the highest motives, hav- 
ing the public welfare at heart. Thomas Jefferson, who was 
a profound student of local government, said : ''The vestry- 
men are usually the most discreet farmers, so distributed 
through the parish that every part of it may be under the 
immediate eyes of some one of them. They are well ac- 
quainted with the details and economies of private life, and 
they find sufficient inducement to execute their charge well 
in their philanthropy, in the approbation of their neighbors 
and the distinction which that gives them." 

The Unit of Representation. — From what has been 
said, it might be assumed that the difference between the 

♦The Virginians, Chapter III. 



140 STATE GOVERNMENT 

Massachusetts and the Virginia colonies was not so great 
after all, and that it was a difference in name more than any- 
thing else. This would doubtless be true to a certain extent 
so far as the government of the parish on the one hand and 
the township on the other is directly concerned, but the dif- 
ference appears more marked when we learn that in Vir- 
ginia the parish was not the political unit. It was not 
the agency used to elect the representatives of the people in 
the wider government of the entire colony. In Virginia the 
county was the unit of representation and the legislature 
was composed of representatives of the respective counties 
and not of representatives of the parishes. 

County Court. — The principal agency in administering 
the government of the Virginia county was the County 
Court, which was composed of eight justices of the peace 
and which met monthly in some central locality. The mem- 
bers of the court were appointed by the governor, but, as a 
matter of fact, after the court was first constituted it was 
practically a self-perpetuating body, because it was custom- 
ary for the court itself to nominate to the governor suita- 
ble candidates for the filling of all vacancies, and its recom- 
mendations were generally followed. 

The county court had a limited jurisdiction in civil and 
criminal actions, and had charge of the probate of wills and 
the administration of estates. In addition to its judicial 
functions, it also superintended the construction of bridges 
and highways and appointed most of the county officers, 
such as surveyors, constables and coroners, and levied the 
taxes for the entire county to be expended for such public 
purposes as payment of salaries, construction of roads and 
public buildings. 

Taxes. — As the population of Virginia was scattered and 
there were no towns in the early days, many of the objects 






THE OLD VIRGINIA COUNTY 141 

for which taxes are levied in municipalities did not exist in 
the colony. The local taxes were levied by the vestrymen 
and were applied principally for ecclesiastical purposes and 
the support of the poor, and the general taxes, for the pur- 
poses which have already been mentioned, were levied by 
the county court. 

Sheriff. — Under the county system, which prevailed in 
Virginia, the Sheriff was an officer having a multitude of 
duties. He not only acted as the executive officer of 
the court, and in that capacity served writs, took care of 
the courthouse and jail and enforced the decrees and orders 
of the court; but he also in many cases acted as the col- 
lector of taxes, and as the treasurer, who held the proceeds 
of the taxes when collected, and in addition to these duties 
he presided over the election of the representatives to the 
legislature. The Sheriff was appointed by the governor 
upon the recommendation of the county court. 

Town and County Systems Contrasted. — From this 
outline of the local governmental arrangements in Virginia 
we find that the governing power was not vested in the peo- 
ple, but was in the hands of a comparatively limited number 
of the citizens. As indicated by the words of Jefferson, al- 
ready quoted, such a government will, no doubt, be benefi- 
cial, economical and efficient, as long as the persons in con- 
trol are actuated by proper motives and in the discharge of 
their duties consider the welfare of the community, and not 
their own private and personal ends. 

In contrasting the two systems of local government pre- 
vailing in New England and in Virginia, two points of dif- 
ference may be noticed. In New England, under the town- 
ship system we find that practically every public officer hav- 
ing any governmental duties to perform was chosen directly 
by the people, and that in Virginia the most important of 



142 STATE GOVERNMENT 

these officers were nominally appointed by the Governor, 
but in reality were appointed by their associates in office, 
thus creating a governing aristocracy, which is repugnant 
to a democracy. We also notice that in New England the 
entire management of local affairs was in the hands of the 
inhabitants of the respective communities, while in Virginia 
the only local affairs which were even theoretically under the 
control of the people were those pertaining to the parish, 
which concerned solely the support of the church and the 
maintenance of the almshouses, all other local affairs being 
controlled by the county officers. 

It has been said that the New England system is the one 
most likely to cultivate in the minds of the people a thor- 
ough knowledge of the duties of citizenship and to develop 
in them a sense of individual responsibility for the proper 
management of public affairs, while the Virginia system, 
tending, as it does, to divide the population into classes and 
to restrict the management of governmental affairs to a 
few, was more likely to develop qualities of leadership in 
members of the governing class.* 

*Fiske's Civil Government, page 66. 



CHAPTER XVI. 
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF 1818 AND 1848. 

The Enabling Act. — Reference has been made in a 
preceding chapter to the Act of Congress passed on April 
18,1818, enabling the people of the State of Illinois to form 
a State constitution, and as the provisions of this law have 
an important bearing upon the political institutions of the 
State, it is well to consider it somewhat in detail.* The 
object of this act was to set forth the conditions under which 
the inhabitants of the Territory of Illinois would be allowed 
to form a State government. 

It fixed the boundaries of the State as they are at the 
present time and provided that Illinois and Indiana should 
have concurrent jurisdiction over that portion of the Wa- 
bash River which forms a boundary line between the States, 
and that Illinois should have concurrent jurisdiction on the 
Mississippi River with any State or States west of the river, 
so far as the river should be the common boundary to both. 

At this time Illinois was divided into fifteen counties. The 
enabling act recognized these counties as the units for de- 
•termining the number of representatives of each locality in 
the convention to be called for the purpose of framing a 
State constitution, and directed that the constitutional con- 
vention should meet at the seat of government, which was 
Kaskaskia, on the first Monday of the ensuing August. 

♦For text of Act see Appendix B. 

(143) 



144 STATE GOVERNMENT 

Congress did not suggest what the provisions of this con- 
stitution should be, except that it must be republican in form 
and not repugnant to the Ordinance of 1787, the importance 
of which in prohibiting slavery in the Territory has already 
been noticed. 

Four Propositions. — The enabling act also formulated 
four propositions to be submitted to the convention, which, 
if accepted by the convention, should thereafter constitute a 
contract between the United States and the State of Illinois 
and be obligatory upon both. Two of these proposition 
have been of great value to the citizens of Illinois, because 
they furnished the foundation of the common-school system 
of the State and were in substance as follows: 

That the section numbered sixteen in every township 
should be granted to the State for the use of the inhabitants 
of such township for the support of schools, by the accept- 
ance of which the people of every township in the State were 
from the beginning provided with the means of establishing 
a system of common schools, and that one entire township 
consisting of thirty-six sections, or square miles of land, to 
be designated by the President, should be reserved for the 
use of a seminary of learning.* 

A third proposition provided that five per cent of the pro- 
ceeds of the sales of public lands after January 1, 1819, 
should be reserved for the following purposes — viz : Two 
fifths to be disbursed under the direction of Congress in 
making roads leading to the State, and the remaining three 
fifths to be appropriated by the legislature for the encour- 
agement of learning, of which one sixth should be bestowed 
exclusively on a college or university. 



♦It is assumed that the pupil, in connection with the study of arithmetic, 
has been made familiar with the system of land surveys in use in the State 
of Illinois. For this reason no explanation of the terms is given. 



THE CONSTITUTIONS OF 1818 AND 1848 145 

The remaining proposition required that all salt springs 
within the State and the land reserved for the use of the 
same should be granted to the State and remain under the 
control of the legislature. At the present time, it seems 
strange that so much importance should have been attached 
by Congress to the protection of the salt springs, but it 
must not be forgotten that salt is an article of prime 
necessity, without which men and domestic animals cannot 
exist, and that in pioneer communities it was not so easily 
obtained as at the present time.* 

By these propositions, all of which were accepted,** 
we see the forethought of Congress in providing for the 
social and material welfare of the new State, which no one 
dreamed would become the third in the Union in point of 
population within the lifetime of persons then living. 

The First State Government.— The constitution of 
1818, which was adopted at Kaskaskia on August 26 of 
that year, complied with the requirements of the enabling 
act. It established a republican form of government, and 
expressly declared that all power is inherent in the people, 
and all free governments are founded on their authority 
and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness. It 
recognized the ordinance of 1787 by providing that neither 
slavery nor involuntary servitude should thereafter be 
introduced into the State otherwise than for the punish- 
ment of crimes, and by other specific provisions prohibit- 
ing the slavery of negroes and mulattoes in the State. 

Following the model of the Constitution of the United 
States and the constitutions of the older States, the pow- 
ers of the government of the State of Illinois were divided 



♦See Moses' History of Illinois, which contains much interesting informa- 
tion on this subject, Chapter XIX. 

♦♦For text of Ordinance accepting enabling act, see Appendix C. 



146 STATE GOVERNMENT 

into three distinct departments — legislative, executive and 
judicial — and each department was forbidden to exercise 
powers belonging to the others. The legislative power 
was vested in a general assembly consisting of a senate 
and house of representatives to be elected by the people; 
the executive power was vested in a governor; and the 
judicial power in a supreme court, composed of a chief jus- 
tice and three associates, with such inferior courts as the 
legislature should, from time to time, establish. 

The constitution of 1818 was the supreme law of the 
State until it was superseded by the constitution of 1848, 
which in turn gave place to that of 1870; therefore, it is 
not necessary to consume further space in considering its 
features, except to notice the provisions made for local 
government. 

The County System Adopted.— It made no mention 
whatever of cities orother municipalities ; but, recognizing 
the county as the unit for local government, it provided 
that in each county there should be elected three county 
commissioners to transact all county business, whose pow- 
ers and duties should be regulated and defined by law. 
Another paragraph specified that a competent number of 
justices of the peace should be appointed in each county 
in such manner as the general assembly might direct. 

These are the only provisions of the constitution of 1818 
affecting the question of local government, but it is impor- 
tant to note them, because they formed the basis for repro- 
ducing in Illinois the Virginia system, by which the county 
was the principal agency in the regulation of local affairs. 
The Board of County Commissioners, which was given the 
entire management of county affairs, corresponded with 
the Virginia County Court, except in two particulars — they 
were elected by the people and exercised no judicial func- 






THE CONSTITUTIONS OF 1818 AND 1848 147 

tions. The county court in Illinois has always been a 
separate and distinct tribunal, exercising judicial powers 
alone and not charged with the duty of administering pub- 
lic affairs, as was the county court of Virginia. 

Without going further into the details of the government 
under the constitution of 1818, it may be stated broadly 
that the Southern system of local government was in the 
ascendency, and there were but few evidences that the local 
institutions of New England and the Middle States would 
ever be the choice of the greater portion of the inhabitants. 
This condition was due to the fact that immigration tq 
Illinois up to this time had been largely from Virginia, the 
Carolinas and Kentucky. 

Beginnings of the Township— "But even at this time 
there had been planted in Illinois and throughout the en- 
tire West a germ capable, under right conditions, of devel- 
oping a highly organized township system/'* Mention has 
already been made of the system of land surveys in use 
in Illinois and other Western States, by which the public 
domain was divided into tracts containing thirty-six square 
miles, called townships, in imitation of the New England 
name, solely for the purpose of convenience in describing 
and conveying real estate. This system was established by 
an ordinance enacted by the Continental Congress in 1785 
upon the recommendation of a committee of which Thomas 
Jefferson was chairman, and it is interesting to note that 
so distinguished a Virginian as Thomas Jefferson should 
have been instrumental in introducing into the govern- 
ment of the Northwest Territory an element destined to 
supplant in local matters the institutions of his own State. 
And yet it may have been done advisedly, for the writings 



♦Shaw's Local Government in Illinois, Johns Hopkins University Studies 
in Historical and Political Science, Vol. I. 



148 STATE GOVERNMENT 

of Jefferson disclose that he was a great admirer of the 
township system, recognized its advantages over the parish 
and county system of Virginia, and freely admitted its 
superiority as an example of a pure democracy. 

The next step in the development of this germ was the 
proposition of the enabling act accepted by the people of 
the State, whereby one section in each township was set 
apart for school purposes, and the subsequent enactment 
of laws needed for the proper administration of school 
affairs, by which the township was made a body corporate 
for school purposes and provision was made for the elec- 
tion of school officers by the people. In this way local 
government under the township system commenced in 
Illinois and in a short time the township lines formed the 
boundaries of districts created for other governmental pur- 
poses, such as elections, constructing roads and caring for 
the poor, and "as New England township life grew up 
around the church, so western localism finds its nucleus in 
the school system. "* 

Slavery. — Another agency contributing to change the 
character of local government in Illinois was the slavery 
question. Illinois, having been admitted to the Union as 
a free State, was no longer attractive territory to immigrants 
from the South, and with the admission of Missouri as a 
slave State under the Compromise Bill of 1820, this class 
of settlers ceased locating in Illinois, and passed on to Mis- 
souri, where there were no restrictions upon the owning 
of slaves. In the meantime the northern counties of the 
State began to fill up with people from New England and 
the Middle States, who had always been accustomed to the 
township system as the basis of local institutions. 



♦Shaw's Local Government in Illinois, page 10. 



THE CONSTITUTIONS OF 1818 AND 1848 149 

Rivalry Between Town and County — Hence a rivalry 
arose between the northern and southern ideas which 
caused considerable strife and bitterness of feeling with 
reference to legislative acts and local matters, but all of 
the time the northern idea was becoming more and more 
dominant. 

It is not necessary to trace the history of the develop- 
ment of local government in Illinois during the thirty years 
between 1818 and 1848, but it is undoubtedly true that the 
struggle for supremacy between the two systems repre- 
sented respectively by the county and township plans of 
local government was the prime cause which led to the 
adoption of a new and revised constitution in 1848, by 
which the rivalry between the two classes of inhabitants 
was settled in a satisfactory and harmonious manner. 

The Compromise. — This constitution directed that the 
general assembly should provide by a general law for town- 
ship organization, under which any county might organize 
whenever a majority of the voters of such county at any 
general election should so determine, and further, that 
whenever any county should adopt a township organiza- 
tion, the power of the county court over the fiscal affairs 
of the county should cease. 

By this happy application of the familiar principles of 
local option, the controversy between the two rival theo- 
ries of local government was largely settled and the sec- 
tional feeling over the question was practically ended. 
Immediately after the adoption of the constitution of 1848, 
the northern counties of the state proceeded to organize 
their local government upon the township plan, while the 
southern counties adhered to the county system to which 
they had been accustomed. In this way the sectional feel- 
ing upon the subject was allayed and the inhabitants of the 



150 STATE GOVERNMENT 

different localities were satisfied, because they were 
allowed to conduct their public affairs in the manner in 
which the majority preferred. 

As the years have passed the vitality of the township 
system has been shown and its advantages for purposes of 
local government have been demonstrated by the fact that 
it has gradually taken the place of the county system in 
nearly all of the counties of the State. At the present time 
there are one hundred and two counties in Illinois, and of 
these only nineteen* still cling to the county system of 
government, thus showing that the township is likely to be 
preferred as an agency for local government in most cases. 

Under the constitution of 1848, the general framework 
of the State government remained the same as under the 
constitution of 1818, although many new provisions were 
added, which had been rendered necessary on account of 
the changed conditions existing in the State, due to the 
large increase in wealth and population. The judicial 
department in particular was the subject of new enact- 
ments, and provision was made for the creation of inferior 
courts, instead of leaving their formation entirely to the 
legislature, as had been the case under the constitution of 
1818. 



♦These counties are Alexander, Calhoun, Cass, Edwards, Hardin, Hender- 
son, Johnson, Massac, Menard, Monroe, Morgan, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Ran- 
dolph, Scott, Union, Wabash and Williamson. 






CHAPTER XVII. 
STATE GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS. 

We come now to study the government of the State of 
Illinois as it exists to-day under the constitution of 1870. 
This constitution was adopted on May 13, 1870, by a con- 
vention composed of delegates chosen by the people, which 
met at the capitol building in Springfield. It was ratified by 
a vote of the people on July 2, 1870, and went into effect 
on August 8, 1870. 

The States are forbidden by the constitution of the 
United States to exercise any of the powers which have 
been given exclusively to the Federal Government, as 
those powers are such as affect all of the States, and there- 
fore could not be exercised by the States separately with 
any degree of uniformity or harmony. It would cause a 
vast amount of confusion and trouble if each of the forty- 
five States of the Union had the right to exercise such 
national prerogatives as coining money, imposing customs 
duties, regulating patents and copyrights, making treaties 
with foreign nations or maintaining a military and naval 
establishment. 

For this reason the Constitution has prohibited the 
States from exercising any of the powers of the national 
government, and in furtherance of the same purpose has 
expressly and specifically provided that no State shall at- 
tempt to do any of these things. With these restrictions 
the State government of Illinois can do almost anything 

(151) 



152 STATE GOVERNMENT 

that its own constitution and the acts of its own legislature 
permit. 

Scope of State Government. — To show the vast range 
of subjects which are under the control of the State gov- 
ernment, the following words of a learned writer upon the 
subject are quoted in full : 

"All the civil and religious rights of our citizens depend 
upon State legislation; the education of the people is in 
the care of the States ; with them rests the regulation of the 
suffrage; they prescribe the rules of marriage, the legal 
relations of husband and wife, of parent and child; they 
determine the powers of masters over servants and the 
whole law of principal and agent, which is so vital a matter 
in all business transactions ; they regulate partnership, 
debt, credit and insurance ; they constitute all corporations, 
both private and municipal, except such as specially 
fulfill the financial or other specific functions of the Fed- 
eral Government ; they control possession, distribution and 
use of property, the exercise of all trades and all contract 
relations ; and they formulate and administer all criminal 
law, except only that which concerns crimes committed 
against the United States, on the high seas or against the 
law of nations. Space would fail in which to enumerate 
the particulars of this vast range of power; to detail its 
parts would be to catalogue all social and business relation- 
ships, to examine all the foundations of law and order. "* 

We shall now present an outline of the general structure 
of the State government of Illinois, and show how its 
legislative, executive and judicial departments are consti- 
tuted, and the powers of each, but some of the provisions 
of the constitution, such as those relating to revenue, edu- 



♦Woodrow Wilson, The State. 



STATE GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 153 

cation, suffrage and other matters, will be considered in 
subsequent chapters. 

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

The legislative power of the State is vested in a general 
assembly, consisting of a senate and house of representa- 
tives, both of which are elected by the people. A senator 
must be at least twenty-five years of age, but a person may 
be elected a representative at the age of twenty-one. A 
candidate for either of these positions must be a citizen of 
the United States, and must have been for five years a resi- 
dent of this State and for two years preceding his election a 
resident of the district from which he is chosen. No person 
holding any lucrative office under the United States or this 
State can be either senator or representative. Xo person 
convicted of bribery, perjury or other infamous crime, or 
any officer who has failed to account for public money 
entrusted to his care, can fill these positions or any other 
office in this State. Members of the general assembly 
before entering upon their official duties are required to 
take a solemn oath of office, and any member who violates 
this oath must forfeit his office and be thereafter disquali- 
fied from holding any office of trust or profit in this State. 

Senators and Representatives.— To determine the 
number of senators and representatives, the constitution 
provides that the State shall be divided into fifty-one sena- 
torial districts, each of which shall elect one senator, whose 
term of office shall be four years. The senators elected 
in the year 1872 in districts having odd numbers held their 
offices for two years only, while those elected from dis- 
tricts having even numbers held their offices for four years, 
and elections of senators are held every two years, in either 



154 



STATE GOVERNMENT 



the odd or even numbered districts. By this device the 
senate is never composed entirely of new and inexperi- 
enced members. 

Minority Representation.— The house of representa- 
tives consists of three times as many members as the sen- 
ate. Three members are elected from each senatorial 
district for a term of two years. In elections of repre 
sentatives each voter may cast as many votes for any one 
candidate as there are representatives to be elected, or he 
may distribute his vote, or equal parts thereof, among the 
candidates as he shall see fit. 

The operation of this rule will be readily comprehended 
when it is applied to a particular case. Thus at every state 
election three representatives must be elected from each 
senatorial district. The voter may cast three votes for 
one candidate, or one and one-half votes for each of two 
candidates, or one vote for each of three candidates. The 
effect of this provision is to give to the political party 
which happens to be in the minority in any particular dis- 
trict the power of electing one of its candidates. 

Legislative Sessions. — The regular sessions of the 
general assembly must commence at 12 o'clock noon on 
the Wednesday next after the first Monday in January, in 
the year next ensuing the election of members thereof; 
that is to say, an election of senators and representatives 
takes place every second year in the month of November 
and the regular session of the general assembly com- 
mences in the following January. The constitution forbids 
the holding of sessions of the general assembly at any 
other time, except in cases where a special session is con- 
vened by the governor, who has the right to exercise that 
power on extraordinary occasions. 

The presiding officer of the house of representatives, 



STATE GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 155 

called the Speaker, is elected by the members of the house, 
but the lieutenant-governor, who is elected by the people, 
presides over the sessions of the senate. 

Special Legislation Forbidden. — The constitution 
imposes some restrictions upon the power of the legisla- 
ture to enact laws, without which there would be no limit 
to the scope or variety of legislation. It is unlawful for 
the legislature to pass special or local laws ; that is, laws 
whose application is limited to particular persons or classes 
of persons, or to particular sections of the State, upon 
quite a variety of subjects, such as changing the names 
of persons and places, locating or changing county seats, 
laying out roads, regulating county and township affairs, 
incorporating cities, towns and villages, providing for the 
management of common schools or regulating the rate 
of interest on money. The effect of this prohibition upon 
the legislature is to render all laws uniform throughout the 
State, so that, for example, the legal rate of interest must 
be the same for the citizen of Chicago as for the inhab- 
itant of Bloomington or Cairo. 

Impeachment. — The provisions of the constitution of 
Illinois upon the subject of impeachment are similar to those 
of the Federal Constitution.* The house of representa- 
tives has the sole power of impeachment, and all impeach- 
ments must be tried by the senate, which acts in a judicial 
capacity in such cases. When the governor of the State is 
tried, the chief justice presides and two thirds of the sena- 
tors must concur in order to secure a conviction. In case of 
conviction, the punishment is removal from office and dis- 
qualification from holding any office of honor, profit or 
trust under the government of this State. 

♦See page 75. 



156 STATE GOVERNMENT 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

In comparing the provisions of the constitution of Illi- 
nois relating to the executive department with those of the 
Federal Constitution an important difference should be 
noted. Under the Constitution of the United States, the 
executive power is vested in the President alone, and all 
other officers having executive duties to perform hold their 
respective positions by appointment, while the constitution 
of Illinois provides that the executive department shall con- 
sist of a number of officers — viz. : Governor, Lieutenant- 
Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of Public Accounts, 
Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Attor- 
ney General, all of whom are elected for a term of four 
years, except the Treasurer, who serves for two years only 
and is not eligible for election during the succeeding two 
years. 

It is, therefore, apparent that the governor is only a part 
of the executive department, and that there are other execu- 
tive officers deriving their powers from the same source as 
the governor — that is, from the constitution. "Indeed, it 
may be doubted whether the governor and other principal 
officers of a state government can, even when taken to- 
gether, be correctly described as 'the executive/ since the 
actual execution of the laws does not rest with them, but 
with the local officers chosen by the towns and counties, and 
bound to the central authorities of the State by no real 
bonds of responsibility whatever."* 

Governor. — A person to be eligible for the office of gov- 
ernor or lieutenant-governor must be at least thirty years of 
age and must have been for five years next preceding his 



*Woodrow Wilson, The State. 



STATE GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 157 

election a citizen of the United States and of the State of 
Illinois. 

The powers and duties of the governor, as established by 
the Constitution of Illinois, may be generalized under the 
following heads : 

i. Certain Duties and Powers with Reference to the Legisla- 
ture. — It is his duty, at the beginning of each session and at 
the close of his term of office, to give to the general assem- 
bly, by message, information of the condition of the State 
and to recommend such measures as he deems expedient. 
He has the power of convening the general assembly in 
special sessions upon extraordinary occasions, and in case 
of disagreement between the two houses to fix the time to 
which the assembly shall adjourn. 

2. The Power of Appointment and Removal. — The governor 
has the power of nominating and, by and with the advice 
and consent of the senate, appointing all officers whose 
appointment or election is not otherwise provided for. In 
case a vacancy occurs in any of the executive offices above 
mentioned, the governor has the right to fill the vacancy by 
appointment, until an election can be held. He also has the 
power of removing all appointive officers for malfeasance 
in office. 

3. Pardoning Pozver. — He has the power of granting re- 
prieves, commutations and pardons after conviction, for all 
offenses, subject to such regulations as may be provided 
by law. 

4. As Commander-in-Chief . — He is commander-in-chief of 
the military and naval forces of the State, except when they 
shall be called into the service of the United States, and may 
call out these forces to aid in executing the laws, suppress- 
ing insurrection and repelling invasion. 

5. The Pozver of Veto, — Every bill passed by the legisla- 



158 STATE GOVERNMENT 

ture must be submitted to the governor before it becomes 
a law. If he approves the enactment, he signs it, and 
thereupon it becomes a law; if he does not approve, he 
returns the bill to the house from which it originated, 
together with his objections. This act of the governor is 
termed vetoing the bill* If the bill again passes both houses 
of the general assembly by a two thirds vote in each house, 
it becomes a law, notwithstanding the governor's veto. 
Any bill not returned by the governor within ten days after 
it has been submitted to him becomes a law in like manner 
as if he had signed it. In case he is prevented from return- 
ing the bill by the adjournment of the legislature, within 
ten days after the bill has been presented to him, he may 
exercise his right of veto by filing the bill, with his objec- 
tions to it, in the office of the secretary of state. 

In case of death, conviction on impeachment, failure to 
qualify, resignation, absence from the State, or other disa- 
bility of the governor, the powers, duties and emoluments of 
the office for the residue of the term, or until the disability 
is removed, devolve upon the lieutenant-governor. 

Other State Officers. — Lieutenant-Governor. — The lieu- 
tenant-governor is president of the senate, but he has 
the right to vote only when the senate is equally divided 
upon a question. The senate is required to choose a presi- 
dent pro tempore to preside in case of the absence or im- 
peachment of the lieutenant-governor, or when he holds 
the office of governor. 

If there be no lieutenant-governor, or if the lieutenant- 
governor becomes incapable of performing the duties of the 
office, the president of the senate acts as governor until the 
vacancy is filled or the disability removed ; and if the presi- 



*The word veto was originally a Latin verb, meaning "I forbid." 



STATE GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 159 

dent of the senate becomes incapable of performing the 
duties of the governor, the same devolve upon the speaker 
of the house of representatives. 

Secretary of State. — The secretary of state is the official 
custodian of the books, papers, records and great seal of 
the State of Illinois. The title of his office more accurately 
describes his duties than is the case with the Secretary of 
State of the United States, who is a minister of foreign af- 
fairs. The secretary of state of the State of Illinois per- 
forms the duties which are usually imposed upon the secre- 
tary of any great establishment, and acts in the same capac- 
ity for the sovereign State of Illinois as he would if secre- 
tary of a large private corporation. 

All public acts, laws and resolutions passed by the general 
assembly must be deposited in his office, and he is charged 
with the safekeeping of all documents deposited with him. 
It is his duty to keep a record of the official acts of the gov- 
ernor ; to countersign and to affix the seal of the State to 
all commissions issued by the governor; to furnish, upon 
request and payment of the lawful fees therefor, a copy of 
any of the records in his office ; to take charge of and care 
for the grounds and buildings situated in the city of Spring- 
field belonging to or occupied by the State, as well as all of 
its personal property; to furnish to the public printer the 
necessary information for printing public records ; and to 
supervise the distribution of the laws and journals of the 
general assembly. 

Auditor. — The Auditor of Public Accounts is the official 
bookkeeper of the State of Illinois. It is his duty to keep 
the accounts of the State with any other State or Territory 
and with the United States, with all public officers, corpo- 
rations and individuals having dealings with the State, and 
to audit all accounts of public officers who are paid out of 



160 STATE GOVERNMENT 

the State treasury, of the members of the legislature and 
all persons authorized to receive moneys from the State 
treasury. He also has many other duties to perform 
under various statutes of the State, such as the examina- 
tion of the books and accounts of building and loan asso- 
ciations and of banks incorporated under the laws of the 
State. 

Treasurer. — The Treasurer, as is indicated by the title of 
his office, must receive and keep all moneys belonging to 
the State of Illinois. This is an office of great pecuniary 
responsibility, and, therefore, to secure the faithful dis- 
charge of his duties, the Treasurer is obliged to give a 
bond to the people of the State in the sum of $500,000, and 
is also required to furnish additional bonds whenever the 
governor shall deem it necessary. 

The treasurer must receive all public moneys of the State 
and safely keep the same. Any person paying money into 
the State treasury must first obtain from the auditor an 
order directing the treasurer to receive the money, and if 
the treasurer should receive and receipt for any money 
without such an order being presented to him, he would be 
liable to removal from office. He can pay money out of 
the treasury only upon the warrant of the auditor, and he 
is required to keep accurate accounts of all moneys received 
and paid out by him and to report the same each month to 
the auditor. 

Attorney-General. — The Attorney-General is the chief law 
officer of the State government. It is his duty, as prose- 
cuting officer, to represent the people of the State in all 
cases in which they are interested, and also to protect 
State officers in suits brought against them in their official 
capacity. He is the legal adviser of the governor and 
other State officers, and is required, when requested by 



STATE GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 161 

them, to give written opinions upon all legal and constitu- 
tional questions relating to their duties, and to prepare all 
documents incidental to the business of the State. He is 
the legal adviser of both branches of the general assembly, 
and it is his duty to enforce the proper application of the 
funds appropriated for the support of the public institu- 
tions, such as schools and asylums, and to prosecute all 
persons who may be guilty of any breach of trust in the 
management of such funds. 

THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

The constitution of 1870 made greater changes in the 
structure of the judicial department as it existed under the 
constitution of 1848 than in any of the other departments 
of the State government. Your attention has already 
been called to the fact that inferior courts were not cre- 
ated by the former constitutions of the State, but de- 
pended for their existence upon acts of the legislature. 
Under the constitution of 1870 the judicial powers of the 
State are vested in one Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, 
County Courts, Justices of the Peace, Police Magistrates, 
and such other courts as may be created by law in and for 
cities and incorporated towns. 

Supreme Court. — The Supreme Court consists of seven 
judges, who have original jurisdiction in cases relating to 
the revenue, mandamus* and habeas corpus**, and appel- 
late jurisdiction in all other cases. One of the judges 
is the Chief Justice and presides at the sessions of the 
court. The others are called Justices, and serve in turn 



♦The word mandamus was originally a Latin verb, meaning "we command." 
In law it is used to designate a writ or order issued by a superior court, 
directing an inferior court or a public officer to perform some specific duty. 

♦♦For an explanation of this term see Chapter XXIV. 



162 STATE GOVERNMENT 

as Chief Justice. A person, to be elected to the office of 
judge of the supreme court, must be at least thirty years of 
age and a citizen of the United States, and must have re- 
sided in this State five years next preceding his election, 
and be a resident of the district from which he is elected. 
For the election of judges of the supreme court the State 
is divided into seven districts, each of which is composed of 
a number of counties. The terms of the supreme court 
are held at the capitol building in the city of Springfield, on 
the first Tuesday in October, December, February, April 
and June in each year. 

Appellate Courts. — The constitution provides that after 
the year 1874 inferior appellate courts may be created in 
districts formed for that purpose, to which appeals may 
be taken from the inferior courts, and from which appeals 
lie to the supreme court in certain cases. Under this 
authority the legislature, on June 2, 1877, enacted a law 
establishing four appellate courts in this State and divided 
the State into four districts, in each of which an appellate 
court is held. The judges of this court are selected by 
the supreme court from the judges of the circuit courts 
of the several districts, and in the first district, which is 
composed of Cook County alone, the appellate court 
judges are selected from both the circuit and superior 
courts of that county. 

The appellate courts exercise appellate jurisdiction only, 
and appeals to this court are taken from the lower 
courts in all cases except criminal cases, and cases involv- 
ing a franchise or a free-hold or the validity of a statute. 
The decision of the appellate court is final in all cases 
where less than the sum of $1,000 is involved, but an 
appeal may be taken from the decision of the appellate 
court to the supreme court in all cases where a greater 



STATE GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 163 

amount is involved and in cases involving a less sum 
wherein legal questions are involved of such importance 
that the judges of the appellate court certify the same to 
the supreme court in order to obtain its opinion thereon. 

Circuit Courts. — Circuit courts have original jurisdic- 
tion of all civil cases, and also have appellate jurisdiction of 
cases arising before justices of the peace and before the 
probate court. The State, exclusive of Cook County and 
other counties having a population of 100,000 inhabitants, 
is divided into judicial circuits formed, as nearly as pos- 
sible, of contiguous counties, but the population of any 
one circuit must not exceed 100,000 inhabitants. One 
judge is elected by the people for each of said circuits for a 
term of six years. No person can be elected to the office 
of judge of the circuit court unless he is at least twenty-five 
years of age, a citizen of the United States and a resident of 
this State for five years next preceding his election, and is a 
resident of the circuit in which he is elected. 

The County of Cook constitutes one judicial circuit, and 
at the time of the adoption of the constitution of 1870 the 
circuit court of that county was composed of five judges, 
but their number has been increased from time to time, 
as the population has grown, so that at the present time 
there are fourteen judges of the circuit court in that county. 

Superior Court of Cook County. — The County of Cook 
also has another court called the Superior Court of Cook 
County, which has the same jurisdiction as the circuit 
court. The existence of this court is due to the fact that, 
prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1870, there 
existed in the City of Chicago a court known as the Supe- 
rior Court of Chicago, and the constitution provided that 
this court should be continued and called the Superior 
Court of Cook County. At the present time there are 



164 STATE GOVERNMENT 

eleven judges of the Superior Court of Cook County. The 
number of judges in both the circuit and superior courts 
may be increased by the general assembly whenever there 
is an addition of 50,000 inhabitants to the population of 
the county, by adding one judge to each of the said courts. 

Criminal Court of Cook County. — The County of Cook 
also has a criminal court, in which are tried all cases of 
a criminal nature arising in that county. In all other 
counties, criminal cases are tried before the circuit court, 
but in the County of Cook, owing to the large volume of 
business, it has been deemed wise to create a separate 
court for the trial of criminal cases only. This court is 
called the Criminal Court of Cook County, and its terms 
are held by one or more of the judges of the circuit or 
superior courts of Cook County as nearly as may be in 
alternation. A judge of the circuit or superior court, when 
sitting in the criminal court, is styled a Judge of the Crim- 
inal Court of Cook County. 

County and Probate Courts. — In each county of the 
State there is a County Court, having one judge only, whose 
term of office is four years. County courts have jurisdic- 
tion in all proceedings for the collection of taxes and 
assessments, and in all insolvency matters, and such other 
jurisdiction as may be provided for by the laws of the 
State. In all counties, except the County of Cook, county 
courts also have jurisdiction in probate matters and the 
settlement of estates of deceased persons, appointment of 
guardians for minors and conservators for insane persons. 

In the County of Cook matters relating to the settlement 
of estates of decedents are adjudicated in the Probate 
Court of Cook County. This court was created by the 
legislature in 1877 pursuant to the power given by the 



STATE GOVERNMENT OF ILLINOIS 165 

constitution, which provided for the establishment of such 
a court in any county having a population of over 50,000 
inhabitants. The judge of this court is elected by the 
people, and his term of office is four years. 

This concludes the list of judicial officers of the State 
of Illinois, except justices of the peace and police magis- 
trates, whose duties will be described in connection with 
the study of the county and municipal governments of the 
State. The constitution provides that all judicial officers 
shall be commissioned by the governor, that all laws relat- 
ing to courts shall be general and of uniform operation, 
and that the method of transacting the business of the 
courts shall be the same in all parts of the State. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 
COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS. 

County -Government in General. — We have learned 
something of the county system of government as it was in- 
troduced in the colony of Virginia, and afterward brought 
into Illinois by settlers from Virginia, and have seen that, 
like most of our political institutions, it is of English 
origin. Each State of the Union except Louisiana* is 
divided into counties, varying in size and population ; there- 
fore county government is general throughout the United 
States. 

The county is a subdivision and agency of the State, 
created for convenience in administering the affairs of the 
State government. It is an institution of ancient origin, 
having a history full of interest to students of civil affairs. 
The county in England is older than the kingdom itself. 
It originated with the union of two or more clans into a 
tribe and their settlement in a fixed dwelling place, after 
which, in a comparatively short time, they assumed the 
form of a monarchy and the chief became known as a king. 

When the Anglo-Saxon tribes invaded England and set- 
tled in different parts of the island, they created a number 
of small kingdoms, independent of each other. Afterward, 
when the government became centralized and subject to 
one responsible head, these individual kingdoms continued 
their existence, and were known as counties. Thus the 



* Louisiana is divided into parishes for purposes of local government. 

(166) 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 167 

growth of the county in England has been essentially dif- 
ferent from its development in the United States. In Eng- 
land the kingdom was created by a union of the counties, 
but in the United States the counties have been formed 
by a subdivision of the State. 

The legislature of each State controls the division of 
the State into counties, all of which are created solely by 
legislative act. A county is endowed with certain func- 
tions, giving it the character of a corporation. It can sue 
in the courts and be sued ; it can act only through its duly 
qualified officers ; it can purchase such real estate as is 
needed for the uses of the county ; it can sell or lease the 
same when no longer needed, and it can make all contracts 
necessary for the proper transaction of the county business. 

The government of the county is, to some extent, divided 
into legislative, executive and judicial branches, although 
the greater portion of the powers exercised by its officers 
come within the executive and judicial branches. 

Constitutional Provisions. — For purposes of local gov- 
ernment Illinois was divided into counties before it became 
a State, and the county system of government was contin- 
ued under the constitutions of 1818 and 1848. The constitu- 
tion of 1870 recognized these subdivisions of the State as 
they existed at the time of its adoption. 

The latter instrument made no change in the number or 
boundaries of the counties, but restricted the power of the 
legislature in respect thereto, by providing that no new 
county shall be formed having a smaller area than four 
hundred square miles, and that the territory of no county 
shall be reduced in area below that limit, and prohibiting 
substantially any change in the boundaries of a county 
without the consent of a majority of the legal voters of such 
county. 



168 STATE GOVERNMENT 

The constitution of 1870 also recognized the rivalry 
which had formerly existed between the respective adherents 
of the county and township systems of local government, by 
substantially re-enacting the provision of the constitution 
of 1848, whereby the voters of each county are given the 
right to determine which system shall be used. It also pro- 
vided for the general government of counties not under 
township organization, by committing the management of 
their affairs to 'The Board of County Commissioners/' con- 
sisting of three persons in each county elected by the people. 

Special arrangement is made for the county affairs of 
Cook County by the provision that they shall be managed 
by a board of fifteen commissioners, ten of whom shall be 
elected from the City of Chicago and five from the towns 
outside of the city. The government of other counties 
under township organization is managed by a board of super- 
visors composed of the supervisors* of the various towns 
in the county. 

The constitution also requires the election of the follow- 
ing judicial and executive officers — viz. : County Judge, 
County Clerk, Sheriff, Treasurer, Coroner, Clerk of the 
Circuit Court and Recorder of Deeds, and provides for the 
compensation of these officers. All counties in the State 
have the above-named officers, except that, in counties hav- 
ing a population of less than 60,000 inhabitants, the clerk of 
the circuit court may also act as recorder. 

The County Board — In counties under township organ- 
ization the principal governing body is the Board of Super- 
visors, but in the County of Cook the same functions are 
performed by the Board of County Commissioners. Each 
of these bodies is ordinarily designated by the name of "The 
County Board," which name is also given to the Board of 



♦The office of supervisor is explained on page 184. 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 169 

County Commissioners in counties not under township or- 
ganization. 

The members of the county board are elected by the 
people, and have charge of the business, property and funds 
of the county and the settlement of all accounts involving 
the receipts and expenditures of the county. 

Among their important powers and duties are those re- 
lating to the construction and maintenance of county build- 
ings, the management of the county institutions, such as 
almshouses, hospitals, insane asylums, schools, jails, court- 
houses, and the construction and management of roads and 
bridges throughout the county. In making rules and regu- 
lations for the proper government of these institutions, the 
county commissioners exercise a certain legislative power, 
subject, however, to the limitation that all rules and ordi- 
nances enacted by them must conform to the laws of the 
State. 

They have the power to levy and to collect taxes for the 
support of the institutions of the county, and for the pay- 
ment of salaries of county officers. At the present time the 
power to transact all general county business is vested in the 
county board. Under the constitutions of 1818 and 1848, 
in counties not under township organization, the county 
court was given the power to transact a considerable por- 
tion of the county business. This imitation of the Virginia 
system described in a former chapter was wholly abolished 
by laws enacted under the constitution of 1870. 

Government of Cook County.— The County of Cook is 
by far the wealthiest and most populous county of the State. 
For this reason its government is attended with conditions 
which do not exist in other counties, and the legislature has 
enacted laws applicable solely to the board of county com- 
missioners of this county. The term of office of commis- 



170 STATE GOVERNMENT 

sioners of Cook County is two years; one of the candidates 
is designated, on the ballot, for President of the Board and 
is elected to that office by popular vote. 

The board is required to hold regular meetings at stated 
intervals. The president is the presiding officer and per- 
forms the general duties of this office. He appoints com- 
mittees, oversees the work of employees and takes care that 
the business of the county is conducted as the law requires. 

All resolutions and motions involving the appropriation 
and expenditure of money must be submitted to the county 
board in writing before they are voted upon, and when 
adopted by the board they do not go into effect until they 
have been approved in writing by the president. If the 
president does not approve any resolution or motion 
adopted by the board, he vetoes it by returning the written 
copy of the proposed act to the clerk of the board, together 
with a written statement of his objections to the same. In 
such a case, it requires the affirmative vote of four fifths of 
the commissioners to pass the measure over the president's 
veto. In case the president fails to approve or veto any 
resolution or motion within six days after its passage, it 
goes into effect without his approval. 

The commissioners of Cook county have the same pow- 
ers and duties as the board of supervisors in other counties 
under township organization, but the law of the State has 
prescribed certain additional rules, regulations and restric- 
tions which do not apply to other counties in the State. 
They cannot delegate to a committee or other person the 
power of acting for the county in any case involving the let- 
ting of any contract or the expenditure of public moneys 
exceeding the sum of five hundred dollars, and no money 
exceeding this sum can be spent by any county officer unless 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 171 

authorized by a vote of at least two thirds of the county 
board. 

The board of commissioners must, within the first quar- 
ter of each year, adopt a resolution called the Annual Ap- 
propriation Bill, which determines the amount of money 
necessary to defray all the expenses of Cook County for the 
ensuing year. This appropriation bill must specifiy in de- 
tail the objects and purposes for which the money is to be 
spent, and, in order to give it publicity and prevent the ap- 
propriation of money for improper purposes, the law re- 
quires that it shall be published in a newspaper in the City of 
Chicago. The county commissioners can make no expend- 
iture of money other than for the purposes and in the 
amounts specified in the appropriation bill, with the excep- 
tion that in case of any unusual and unforeseen casualty by 
.fire, flood or otherwise, the county commissioners have 
the power to appropriate money necessary in such contin- 
gency. 

The law requires the commissioners to appoint a Com- 
mittee on Finance, which has a general supervision over the 
financial affairs of the county ; they are also required to ap- 
point a Committee on Public Service, which has general 
charge of the public institutions and business of the board. 
The president of the board must appoint a Superintendent 
of Public Service, who is under the control of the Committee 
on Public Service, and whose duty is to purchase, receive 
and distribute all supplies necessary for the use of the county 
and its various institutions, and to keep accurate accounts 
of all his transactions. 

All contracts for supplies, material and work for Cook 
County must be let to the lowest responsible bidder, after 
due advertisement. These contracts must be approved by 
the board of commissioners and signed by the president of 



172 STATE GOVERNMENT 

the board, the superintendent of public service and the 
county comptroller. 
The Cook County Civil Service Commission. — In a 

former chapter the necessity of regulating the power of 
appointment to particular offices in the government of the 
United States was shown, and the evils which result from 
vesting this power of appointment in a single individual 
were explained. The statements and reasons there given 
are equally applicable to the large number of employes 
and officers who hold positions under the government of 
Cook County. Accordingly, the legislature of the State 
enacted a law creating a County Civil Service Commission 
for that county, which went into effect in the year 1895. 
By this law the president of the county board is required 
to appoint three commissioners ; not more than two of 
them at the time of their appointment can be members of 
the same political party. It is the duty of these commis- 
sioners to classify all the offices and places of employment 
in the county government with reference to the examina- 
tion of applicants for such positions. The offices and places 
so classified by the commission constitute the Classified 
Civil Service of the county, and appointment to such offices 
or places, and removals from them, must be made under the 
rules established by the civil service commission. 

The law further provides that all applicants for offices or 
places in the classified service shall be subjected to examina- 
tions, which shall be public, competitive and free to all 
citizens of the United States, with specified limitations as to 
residence, age, health, habits and moral character. These 
examinations must be practical in their character and relate 
to those matters which will fairly test the relative capacity 
of the persons examined for discharging the duties of the 
positions to which they seek to be appointed, and shall in- 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 173 

elude tests of physical qualifications, health and manual 
skill. All appointments to positions in the classified civil 
service of the county must be made from the list of those 
candidates who are qualified as shown by their examina- 
tions. 

Other County Officers. — The Clerk. — This officer is re- 
quired to maintain an office at the courthouse in the 
county, and is the keeper of the seal of the county, which 
must be used by him in numerous cases where he is re- 
quired by law to authenticate his acts by the use of an offi- 
cial seal. He has custody of all the records, books and 
papers of the county. His duties are to act as the clerk of 
the county board, to keep an accurate record of its pro- 
ceedings, as well as of all official bonds filed in his office, and 
all details relating to the same. He is required to give to 
persons demanding the same, and paying the lawful fee 
therefor, a copy of any record, paper or account in his office. 
He must also perform such other duties as may be required 
of him by law. Under this sweeping provision he has 
numerous duties under different statutes of the State. 

In Cook County he is made the Clerk of the Board of 
County Commissioners and ex-officio the Comptroller of the 
county finances. In the latter capacity he has charge of all 
deeds, mortgages, contracts, bonds and other documents 
belonging to the county, and is the financial officer of the 
board of county commissioners in all of their business 
transactions. 

The Sheriff. — The Sheriff is one of the most important 
executive officers of the county. He is elected by the peo- 
ple for a term of four years. The office of sheriff originated 
in England and is of great antiquity.* 

*By some authorities the office of sheriff is said to have been created by King 
Alfred, but others are of the opinion that the office is of still greater antiquity 
and that it existed in the time of the Romans. — Bonvicr's Lazu Dictionary. 



174 STATE GOVERNMENT 

It is the duty of the sheriff to execute the orders of the 
various courts of the county. If the courts have decided 
that one citizen is entitled to recover from another the 
amount of a debt owing him, and the debtor is unable to 
pay his creditor the amount due in cash, it becomes the duty 
of the sheriff, acting under the orders of the court which 
has heard and determined the matter, to levy upon and sell 
the property of the debtor in order to realize the amount of 
the debt. 

If the court has decided that a person is guilty of an at- 
tempt to rob the house of a citizen, or commit other crim- 
inal offense, it is the duty of the sheriff to take possession 
of the person who is convicted upon such a charge, and con- 
fine him in the county jail, or to convey him to the State 
prison. 

The sheriff is also the custodian of the jail and court- 
house, and sometimes of other public buildings. He serves 
all writs issued by the courts and provides food for the pris- 
oners in the county jail. 

In case of a riot or other unlawful assemblage of persons 
within the county, it is the duty of the sheriff to enforce and 
maintain the law, and to this end he has the right to call 
upon any and all able-bodied citizens in the county to assist 
him. Thus he and his deputies perform the duties in the 
county which are delegated to police officers in the city. 

Treasurer. — The County Treasurer must receive and 
hold, subject to the order of the proper county officers, all 
the funds belonging to the county. Sometimes the treas- 
urer is made by law the county collector of taxes and per- 
forms important duties in that capacity. The county funds 
are derived from taxation, from fees paid by litigants in the 
courts of the county and from fines imposed upon persons 
who have violated the laws. 






COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 175 

He is required to keep accurate accounts showing all 
moneys, revenues and funds received by him, specifying 
each kind of funds, whether gold, silver, county orders, or 
other funds authorized by law to be received as revenue. 
He must countersign all orders for the disbursement of the 
county money, and is required to report to the county 
board, from time to time, the condition of the funds of the 
county. 

Coroner, — Another county officer is the Coroner, whose 
duty it is to investigate and report upon all cases of death 
from unexplained causes, where there is reason to believe 
that a crime has been committed or a serious accident has 
occurred. For example, if a dead body is found by the side 
of a county highway, possession of the corpse is given to 
the coroner, who summons a jury to ascertain, if possible, 
what caused the death of the person, and whether it was 
due to accident or to the commission of a crime. The 
coroner also performs some of the duties of the sheriff 
in executing the processes of courts of law. In case a suit 
is brought against the sheriff, it is the duty of the coroner 
to serve the summons notifying the sheriff to appear in 
court and answer the charges against him, because it would 
be manifestly absurd to require the sheriff to summon 
himself. 

Clerks of Courts. — Clerks of courts, with the exception 
of the clerks of the supreme and appellate courts, may 
be regarded as county officers. Every court must have a 
clerk, as he is an indispensable officer of the court. With- 
out a clerk, a court cannot do business any more than it 
can act without a judge. In this connection, we shall speak 
of the election of the clerks of all of the courts, and give 
a general statement of the character of their duties, which 
are similar in all cases, 



176 STATE GOVERNMENT 

The law requires the election of a Clerk of the Supreme 
Court, one Clerk of the Appellate Court in each of the 
districts, one Clerk of the Circuit Court of each county, 
one Clerk of the Superior Court of Cook County, one 
Clerk of the Criminal Court of Cook County, and one 
Clerk of the Probate Court of Cook County. The county 
clerks of the several counties are the clerks of the County 
Courts in their respective counties, and, therefore, no clerk 
is elected especially for that court. 

It is the duty of the clerk of a court to have an office in a 
fixed place in the courthouse, and to keep regular office 
hours. He is the keeper of the seal of the court, and is re- 
quired to attend court in person when it is practicable to do 
so, but, when necessary, may appoint deputies, for whose 
conduct and acts he is responsible. The clerk is required to 
preserve all the files and papers relating to the various cases 
and other business before the court, and to keep a com- 
plete record of all of the proceedings, including the judg- 
ments, decrees and orders, of the court with which he is con- 
nected. For this purpose he must keep a general docket, in 
which all suits are entered, and proper indices to all of the 
books of record, so that there may be a ready and easy ref- 
erence to them when desired. 

This brief general statement does not convey an adequate 
idea of the numerous important functions which are per- 
formed by the clerks of the courts, or of the vast volume 
of business which passes through their offices, but as a fa- 
miliarity with all of these details is not sought by any except 
members of the legal profession and others having business 
with the courts no further statement will be given concern- 
ing them. 

Recorder, — The Recorder is a county officer of great im- 
portance, as will appear when the nature of his duties is ex- 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 177 

plained. In all counties having a population of less than 
sixty thousand inhabitants the clerk of the circuit court is 
ex-officio the recorder. In all other counties a recorder is 
elected by the people. It is the duty of the recorder to 
receive and record, in properly bound books provided 
especially for that purpose, all instruments in writing which 
are filed in his office. 

These instruments are those which relate to the trans- 
fer of real estate and personal property, either by act of the 
parties, as when a deed or mortgage is executed, or by oper- 
ation of law, as when a decree of court has been entered af- 
fecting the title to real estate. The recorder is required, 
immediately on receipt of any instrument to be recorded, to 
enter in the order of its reception the names of the parties 
to the instrument, its date, the day of the month, hour and 
year of riling the same, and a brief description of the prop- 
erty specified in the instrument. All these instruments are 
required to be copied at length into proper books of record 
and suitable indices to be made and kept, so that a ready 
reference can be had at any time to the records. 

Among the different kinds of instruments which are filed 
in the recorder's office the most important are deeds, mort- 
gages, trust deeds, chattel mortgages, maps and plats and 
certified copies of judicial proceedings. The greatest 
accuracy is required in keeping the records in this office, 
because upon the sufficiency and correctness of the record 
depends, in many cases, the validity of the title of owners of 
real estate to their property. 

States Attorney. — The State's Attorney is the prosecuting 
officer of the county. He is elected by the people and holds 
office for the term of four years. It is his duty to prosecute 
all actions, both civil and criminal, in which the people of 
the county may be interested. Among these may be men- 



in 



178 STATE GOVERNMENT 

tioned suits for the recovery of debts due to the State, 
county, school districts, or road districts, and all proceed- 
ings brought by any county officer in his official capacity. 
He must also defend the county in all legal proceedings 
against it and its officers in all suits brought against them in 
their official capacity. 

He is principally concerned with the prosecution of cri 
inal offenders against the law, but he also performs many 
other duties imposed upon him by various statutes of the 
State, such as compelling the sale of lands forfeited to the 
State, and prosecuting corporations who fail to comply 
with the laws of the State. 

The office is one of great importance, and the incumbent 
should be possessed of ability and energy in order to meet 
the demands of his official position. 

Justices of the Peace and Constables. — Justices of the Peace 
are county officers exercising judicial powers. This office 
is of great antiquity and was originally considered of much 
importance. In many of the States, however, the persons 
holding commissions as justices of the peace have but few 
duties to perform. In Illinois justices of the peace are 
magistrates, who have power to hear and determine civil 
cases in which the amount involved does not exceed the sum 
of two hundred dollars. They also have jurisdiction of 
criminal complaints punishable by fines only, and in crim- 
inal cases of greater importance they sit as examining 
magistrates and bind over the accused to await the action 
of a court of higher jurisdiction. 

Justices of the peace, except in the City of Chicago, are 
elected by the people. In counties under township organ- 
ization two justices of the peace and two constables are 
elected in each town at the general election of town officers. 
In counties not under township organization two justices 



COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN ILLINOIS 179 

of the peace and two constables are elected in each election 
precinct.* Whenever the population of a town or of an 
election precinct exceeds two thousand inhabitants there 
shall be an additional justice of the peace and an additional 
constable for each one thousand inhabitants, provided that 
no more than five justices and five constables shall be 
elected in any town or precinct. Their term of office is 
four years. 

Constables are the executive officers of the courts held 
by justices of the peace, and perform the same functions by 
way of executing the orders of the court as are performed 
by sheriffs and their deputies in courts of record. 

Justices of Chicago. — The justices of the peace for the 
City of Chicago are selected by the judges of the circuit, 
superior, probate and county courts of Cook County, a 
majority of whom must concur in the selection. The per- 
sons so selected by the judges of the courts are recom- 
mended to the governor of the State for appointment to the 
office, and it is the duty of the governor to nominate the 
persons so recommended, and by and with the advice of the 
senate to appoint those persons to the offices of justices of 
the peace for the various towns composing the City of Chi- 
cago. In case the governor rejects any person who is rec- 
ommended by the judges, or the senate refuses to confirm 
any person who is so recommended, the governor is re- 
quired to give notice of such rejection or refusal to the 
judges, who, within ten days thereafter, must recommend 
some other fit and competent person for such appointment. 

♦For an explanation of the meaning of this term see Chapter XXI. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE GOVERNMENT 

After what has been stated in former chapters concerning 
the origin of township government in this country, and the 
reasons which caused it to become one of the established in- 
stitutions of the State of Illinois, we are now prepared to 
enter directly upon the consideration of the principal fea- 
tures of this kind of local government as it exists in our 
State. 

This form of government in the State of Illinois is used 
principally in rural communities, where the population is 
scattered, although it performs some functions in other 
places. In this State there are no populous places governed 
entirely by the township system, such as is the case in the 
New England States and was in the Town of Boston before 
it adopted a city charter. In the State of Illinois, as soon as 
any considerable number of people inhabit a small and 
compact territory, it follows almost invariably that a village 
or city organization is adopted, and that the township gov- 
ernment ceases to be- the agency for regulating many of the 
local affairs 

Therefore, it must be noted that what is said in this chap- 
ter relative to the township form of government applies 
solely to those rural districts in which there are no cities or 
villages, and that the government of towns whose territory 
lies wholly within the limits of incorporated cities and vil- 
lages is essentially different from that of those towns whose 

(180) 



TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT 181 

territory is not a part of or identical with the territory of 
cities and villages. For example, each of the numerous 
towns which are included within the corporate limits of the 
City of Chicago has a complete township organization and 
elects a full list of town officers, but neither the town meet- 
ing nor the town officers exercise any of those powers which 
are committed by law to the city government of the City of 
Chicago. 

These town governments do not undertake to regulate 
the construction, maintenance and use of public streets, or 
to enact ordinances for the protection of the public health, 
or to exercise many other powers given to town govern- 
ments and exercised by them in cases where they have not 
been superseded by the city or village form of government. 

Organization of Towns. — The general law of the State, 
adopted in 1874, contains detailed provisions by which the 
people of any county in the State may, by election, adopt 
township organization for their county or abandon the 
same, as they see fit. The power of superintending the di- 
vision of the county into townships is given to the county 
board, and the county board may, after the township form 
of government has been adopted by a vote of the people, 
appoint three commissioners whose duty it is to divide the 
county into towns, making their boundaries conform to 
those established by government surveys as far as possible. 
The towns are given such names as may be chosen by the 
inhabitants residing therein, but if no preference is ex- 
pressed by the residents, the commissioners have the power 
of designating the names. 

After the division of the county into towns has been ac- 
complished, it is the duty of the county board to make pro- 
vision for calling a town election, which must be held on the 
first Tuesday of April next after the adoption of township 



182 STATE GOVERNMENT 






organization, and at this election the town officers herein- 
after mentioned are elected by a vote of the people and hole 
their offices respectively for the term of one year. The law 
also contains similar provisions by which any county, 
which has adopted township organization, may discon- 
tinue the same by a vote of the people. The instances in 
which a township organization is discontinued have been 
exceedingly rare. 

Corporate Power of Towns. — The legislature has en- 
dowed towns in this State with some corporate capacities, 
including the power to sue and be sued, to acquire property 
by purchase, gift or devise, to hold it for the use of the in- 
habitants, to sell and convey the same, and to make all con- 
tracts that may be necessary for the proper exercise of the 
powers of the town. The corporate powers are so limitec 
by law that it has been customary to designate this kind of 
a municipal corporation as a quasi-municipal corporation, to 
distinguish it from municipal corporations proper, such as 
cities and villages.* 

At the annual town meeting the voters have power to 
make all necessary orders for the sale, conveyance and use 
of the corporate property of the town, to take necessary 
measures for constructing and repairing roads, bridges and 
causeways, for the prosecution or defense of suits by 
against the town, and for any other purpose for which the 
are required by law to spend money. 

The voters at this town meeting also have power to pro 



U1U 

ley 



*A municipal corporation proper may be defined briefly as a body politic 
and corporate created by act of the legislature whereby the inhabitants of a 
particular place are incorporated for the purpose of local government. Cities 
and villages are examples of municipal corporations proper, as they have all 
powers needed for a complete system of local government. 

Quasi-municipal corporations have certain limited powers only. They are 
agencies of the State created for purposes of civil government generally, and 
not for the regulation of the local affairs of a compact community solely. 
Counties aad school districts are oorporations of this class. 



TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT 183 

vide for the institution and defense of all suits at law in 
which the town is interested ; to prevent the introduction or 
growing of Canada thistles or noxious weeds ; to allow re- 
wards for their destruction ; to offer premiums and take such 
action as shall induce the planting and cultivation of trees 
along the highways ; to make rules and regulations for as- 
certaining the sufficiency of all fences ; to restrain, regulate 
or prohibit the running at large of cattle, horses, mules and 
other domestic animals ; to provide for the establishment 
and maintenance of pounds at such places as may be neces- 
sary and convenient for the confinement of all animals found 
running at large ; to construct and keep in repair public 
wells or other watering places ; and to make such rules and 
regulations as may be deemed necessary to carry into effect 
i the powers granted to the town meeting. 

These are only a part of the powers which the people can 
exercise at a town meeting in the State of Illinois, and we 
notice that they relate to matters of common interest to the 
people of a rural community. Many of the powers of the 
town meeting above mentioned refer to matters of munici- 
pal government, which are usually performed by city and 
village governments, and the law especially provides that in 
all towns in which there are incorporated cities and villages, 
or towns lying wholly within the limits of an incorporated 
city or village, the voters at the town meeting shall not ex- 
ercise such of the powers above mentioned as fall within the 
province of the city or village government. 

The Town Meeting. — The annual town meeting is 
held on the first Tuesday of April, and due notice of the time 
and place of the holding of the same is given by the town 
clerk. At this meeting there must be elected one Super- 
visor, who is also overseer of the poor, one Town Clerk, one 
Assessor and one Collector, and such Justices of the Peace, 



184 STATE GOVERNMENT 

Constables and Highway Commissioners as are provided 
for by law. 

In all towns, except those of Cook County, having a popu- 
lation of four thousand inhabitants provision is made for the 
election of an additional supervisor, who is styled the as- 
sistant supervisor, and for every increase of twenty-five hun- 
dred in the population of the town the law permits the elec- 
tion of another assistant supervisor. 

As in the New England town meeting, the presiding of- 
ficer is called the Moderator, and the town clerk acts as a 
secretary of the meeting and keeps a faithful record of all of 
its proceedings. 

The election of officers is by ballot, and in towns having 
a large population different voting places are established 
for the convenience of the voters in the same manner as in 
case of general elections, all of the election laws of the State 
being applicable to the election of town officers.* In com- 
munities where the citizens are subject to both town and 
city government, as in the City of Chicago, the election of 
both town and city officers takes place at the same time, so 
that the method of conducting a town election in that city 
is precisely similar to that employed in any other election. 
The town meeting for the transaction of miscellaneous busi- 
ness is held at two o'clock on the afternoon of the day of an 
annual meeting, and at this session all of the business of the 
town must be transacted. 

Town Officers. — Supervisor. — The Supervisor of each 
town is required by law to receive and pay out all moneys 
raised for defraying town charges, except what is raised for 
the support of highways and bridges, which is under the 
control of the highway commissioners, and he is required to 



♦These laws are explained in Chapter XXI. 



TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT 185 

prepare and file with the town clerk annually a full and com- 
plete statement of the financial affairs of the town. He must 
keep a just and true account of his receipts and expenditures 
and account for all moneys so received by him. In all 
counties under township organization, except the County 
of Cook, the supervisor of each town attends all meetings 
of the county board, of which he is a member. 

Clerk. — The Town Clerk has the custody of all records, 
books and papers of the town, and is authorized by law to 
administer oaths and take affidavits in all cases where town 
officers are required to take an oath or execute an affidavit. 
He keeps a record of the proceedings of all town meetings, 
and of all orders and directions and all by-laws, rules and 
regulations that are made at the meetings. He must cer- 
tify annually to the county clerk the amount of taxes re- 
quired to be raised for all town purposes.* 

Auditors. — The Board of Town Auditors is composed of 
the supervisor, town clerk and justices of the peace. This 
board must hold a meeting semi-annually in the office of the 
town clerk to examine and audit the accounts of the town. 
At these meetings the auditors are required to examine the 
accounts of the supervisor, overseer of the poor and com- 
missioners of highways for all moneys received and dis- 
bursed by them, as well as all other claims and accounts re- 
lating to the finances of the town. 

Board of Health. — The Board of Health of each town con- 
sists of the supervisor, or supervisors, assessor and town 
clerk. With the appearance of any contagious disease in the 
town or immediate vicinity the board of health has power 
to make and enforce rules and regulations to check the 

*For a description of the duties of the county clerk in tax matters see 
Chapter XXIII. 

The duties of the Assessor and Collector are described in Chapter XXIII. 



186 STATE GOVERNMENT 

spread of such disease. Towns which are included within 
the corporate limits of a city do not exercise this power, be- 
cause the city government has charge of all matters relating 
to the health of the people, except such as are within the 
jurisdiction of the State officers. 

Highway Commissioners. — The three Commissioners of 
Highways in each town have charge of the roads and 
bridges, and it is their duty to keep the same in repair and 
to improve them as far as practicable. The work on the 
roads must be done by the best known methods of roadmak- 
ing, by proper grading and thorough draining by tile or 
otherwise. These commissioners have power to let con- 
tracts, to purchase tools, machinery and materials, and it is 
their duty to take general charge of highways throughout 
the town and to see that they are properly constructed and 
maintained. 

The laws of the State of Illinois relative to the construc- 
tion and maintenance of roads and bridges and the duties 
and powers of highway commissioners in respect thereto 
are too numerous to be detailed. The legislature also has 
made elaborate provisions for the construction and mainte- 
nance of highways in counties not under township organ- 
ization. In such counties the territory, exclusive of cities 
and incorporated villages, is divided into road districts, each 
of which is made a body politic and corporate* and has its 
own board of highway commissioners, three in number. 
These highway commissioners have charge of the public 
highways in their respective districts. 

Comparison with the New England Town. — Such, 
in brief, is the framework of township government as it ex- 
ists in the State of Illinois and in the other States created 



*Tk§ road district is another example of a quasi-municipal corporation 



TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENT 187 

out of the Northwest Territory. It is substantially the form 
of government which was provided by the New England 
town meeting, with these differences, that no body of select- 
men is chosen to administer the affairs of the town during 
the interim between town meetings, and that school af- 
fairs are not under the jurisdiction of the town meeting. 
With these two exceptions, the resemblance between the 
Illinois town meeting and the New England town meeting 
is complete, and generally it is found to be the best and 
most satisfactory method of administering the local affairs 
in rural communities, because through its agency the power 
of local government is left in the hands of the people whose 
interests are directly affected. 

The Government of Villages. — As the population of 
any community increases and the territory becomes thickly 
settled, the village is formed and the village form of govern- 
ment supersedes that of the town. Any town in this State 
may become incorporated as a village whenever a majority 
of the votes at an election held for determining the question 
shall be in favor of such a change, and with the taking and 
recording of such a vote the township organization ceases 
and the village commences. 

A village may be formed also whenever any territory not 
exceeding two square miles in extent shall have resident 
thereon a population of at least three hundred inhabitants. 
The method of procedure is by a petition, which must be 
signed by thirty legal voters of the proposed village and ad- 
dressed to the county judge, who causes the question of in- 
corporating as a village to be submitted to the legal voters. 
Whenever such a petition is filed in the office of the county 
clerk, the county judge fixes the time and place of holding 
an election, and if a majority of the votes cast at the elec- 
tion is for village organization, then the proposed village, 



188 STATE GOVERNMENT 

with the boundaries and name mentioned in the petition, 
becomes an organized village. 

The governmental affairs of the village are committed to 
six Trustees, who are divided by lot into two classes, those 
of the first class continuing in office for one year and those 
of the second class for two years from the date of the first 
election. Annually thereafter there are elected three 
trustees, to hold office for the term of two years. The 
trustees choose one of their number as president and the 
village is made a body politic and corporate, and has all 
of the usual powers of a municipal corporation. 

The board of trustees of a village has the same powers 
and duties as the city council of a city, and the president of 
the village performs substantially the same functions as the 
mayor of a city. The powers and duties of the president 
and trustees of a village will not be stated in detail at this 
time, for the reason that in the following chapter the gov- 
ernment of a city will be explained, and everything therein 
contained as to the powers and duties of the mayor and 
aldermen of the city is equally applicable to the president 
and trustees of the village. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES. 

The system of municipal government in vogue in this 
country has been the least successful of all of our political 
institutions. The scheme of government provided by our 
forefathers has been satisfactory in national and state af- 
fairs, but this has not been the case in the government of 
cities. The problems of municipal government received but 
little attention from them, doubtless because they believed 
that the citizens of a community should have sole charge of 
the regulation of local affairs. Even if they had considered 
it a part of their duty to provide a scheme for municipal gov- 
ernment, it is doubtful if such a scheme would now be suc- 
cessful, for the reason that the questions which now con- 
front those who are charged with the administration of city 
affairs did not exist in the latter part of the eighteenth cen- 
tury. 

When the Constitution of the United States took effect 
in the year 1789 there were no large cities in the country. 
The largest city was Philadelphia, which had a population of 
about 31,000 inhabitants. Next in size was New York, with 
a population of 23,000, then came Boston with a population 
of 18,000. These were the largest cities in the original 
thirteen States, and there were scarcely a dozen others with 
a population of 5,000 inhabitants each, so it is apparent that 
questions of municipal government could not have been 

(189) 






190 STATE GOVERNMENT 

troublesome in those days, because it is not in small cities 
that the present abuses exist. 

In noting the marked changes which have taken place in 
the conditions of city life, an eminent historian draws a vivid 
picture of the strange world in which Washington would 
find himself were he to walk the streets of one of our modern 
cities, when he says : "He never in his life saw a flag- 
stone sidewalk nor an asphalted street, nor a pane of glass 
six feet square. He never heard a factory whistle ; he never 
saw a building ten stories high, nor an elevator, nor a gas 
jet, nor an electric light ; he never saw a hot-air furnace, nor 
entered a room warmed by steam ; he never struck a match, 
nor sent a telegram, nor spoke through a telephone, nor 
touched an electric bell ; he never saw a horse car, nor an 
omnibus, nor a trolley car, nor a ferry boat. Fancy him 
boarding a street car to take a ride ! He would probably 
pay his fare with a nickel, but the nickel is a coin he never 
saw. Fancy him staring from the window at a fence bright 
with theatrical posters, or at a man rushing by on a 
bicycle. "* 

This quotation, specifying only a few of the incidents of 
life in a great city, illustrates the changes which have taken 
place between the year 1789 and the present day, and it is 
these changes that have called our present municipal gov- 
ernments into existence. The regulation and construction 
of sidewalks and of buildings, and the elevators in them, the 
lighting of streets by gas and electricity, the supervision of 
street railways and of carriages, bicycles and pedestrians 
upon the public streets are subjects of municipal regulation 
which were unknown in the days of Washington. 

♦McMaster's School History of the United States, page 178. American 
Book Company, 1897. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 191 

Origin of the Modern City.— Municipal government 
in the United States is derived from that of English cities, 
having been modified from time to time as circumstances 
required, or seemed to require, so that the system now 
represents an irregular growth of over a hundred years, 
instead of a systematic, conservative and well defined plan, 
such as exists in our national and State government. 

The origin of the modern city dates back to the history of 
England of about the eleventh century, when towns and 
cities began to grow in importance and received royal rec- 
ognition. The government of these cities originated with 
the guilds, or organizations of artisans. In those times 
each of the different trades found it necessary to form or- 
ganizations for their mutual protection. These associations 
soon grew to be the most important features of industrial 
life in the cities in which they existed. Each guild had its 
own guild hall and held its own meetings. The chief man 
of the guild was termed an alderman, and the government 
of the cities came to be vested in the aldermen representing 
the different guilds. From their own number the aldermen 
elected a chief executive officer, styled the Mayor. Thus 
the government of the modern English city began, and, 
like that of the town and the county, has come down to us 
modified to suit present conditions of life. 

When the Constitution of the United States was adopted 
nearly all of the cities were governed on the plan of the New 
England town meeting, except the city of New York, 
which had the first city government in this country. The 
town meeting was satisfactory until the cities became so 
large that the annual meetings of the citizens were un- 
wieldy from the number attending them, and each individ- 
ual citizen could no longer have a voice in public affairs. In 
such a case an application would be made to the State legis- 



192 STATE GOVERNMENT 

lature asking that a charter be granted providing a scheme 
of government and incorporating the city as a body politic. 
Under such charters the people no longer controlled public 
affairs by their individual vote and acts, but the functions of 
government were performed by representatives elected by 
the people. 

City Charters in Illinois. — Prior to the adoption of the 
constitution of 1870, this method of procedure was employed 
in the State of Illinois. The city charters granted during 
that period were similar in their terms and conditions, 
though there are considerable differences among them in de- 
tails, one city being given different powers by its charter 
from another. To obviate this confusion in the powers of 
city governments, the constitution now prohibits the legis- 
lature from enacting any local or special laws incorporating 
cities, towns and villages. Hence the only special charters 
of cities which now exist in the State of Illinois are those 
granted prior to the adoption of the constitution of 1870. 
Omitting the details of these special charters, we will con- 
sider the general law of the State under which all cities are 
now incorporated. 

Incorporation of Cities. — This law, enacted in 1872, 
provided that any city then in existence might be incorpo- 
rated under its terms if the proposition to do this should re- 
ceive a majority of the votes cast at an election called for 
the purpose of deciding the question. 

In a similar way, a city government may be organized un- 
der this general law whenever any area of contiguous terri- 
tory not exceeding four square miles in extent has resident 
thereon a population of not less than 1,000 inhabitants. The 
City of Chicago in 1875 adopted this general law for its char- 
ter in lieu of the special charter granted to it by the legis- 
lature in 1863. As this city is by far the largest and most 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 193 

important in the State in population, territory, wealth and 
commercial interests, its departments and public offices will 
be taken as the basis for explaining the scheme of municipal 
government provided by the general laws of the State of 
Illinois. 

The city government has a legislative and executive de- 
partment, whose duties are clearly defined. It has no judi- 
cial department, except the police courts, which determine 
minor cases of a criminal nature. 

The Legislative Department.— The power of making 
laws for the government of the city is vested in the city 
council, composed of the mayor and the aldermen, who are 
representatives of the different wards into which the city is 
divided. The wards vary in number according to the popu- 
lation and territorial size of the city, from three in cities hav- 
ing a population not exceeding 3,000 inhabitants to thirty- 
five, which is the largest number of wards into which any 
city can be divided. 

The statute provides that in cities not exceeding 3,000 in- 
habitants there shall be six aldermen ; in cities whose popu- 
lation does not exceed 30,000 inhabitants fourteen aldermen 
and two additional aldermen for every 20,000 inhabitants 
over 30,000 ; and in cities of over 350,000 inhabitants there 
shall be elected forty-eight aldermen and no more, unless 
additional territory shall be annexed to such city after the 
city has been divided into wards on the basis of forty-eight 
aldermen. When such annexation takes place and three or 
more square miles of territory, or from 15,000 inhabitants to 
25,000 inhabitants, are annexed, then the annexed territory 
constitutes a ward of the city and two additional aldermen 
are elected. 

In the City of Chicago, by reason of successive annexa- 
tions, there are now thirty-five wards and consequently 



194 STATE GOVERNMENT 

seventy aldermen. This number cannot be increased, and 
in case of future annexations it will be necessary to redis- 
trict the city in order to give the inhabitants of such annexed 
territory some representation in the city council. 

Aldermen. — A person to be an alderman must be a qual- 
ified voter, and he must reside within the ward for which he 
is elected. He is ineligible if he is in arrears in the payment 
of any tax or other liability due to the city, or if he has ever 
been convicted of malfeasance, bribery, or other corrupt 
practice or crime. He must not be interested directly or in- 
directly in any contract to which the city is a party. He 
cannot hold any other office under the city government, and 
he must not be engaged, either individually or as a member 
of a firm, in any business transaction with the city, or with 
any of its officers, whereby any money is to be paid, directly 
or indirectly, out of the treasury. 

Powers of the City Council.— The laws made by the 
city council are called ordinances, and are as binding upon 
the citizens as the law T s of the State and nation, but no city 
council can enact an ordinance which in any way is contrary 
to the constitution or laws of the State or of the United 
States. 

It may at first appear as if the subjects upon which a city 
council can legislate are few, and that the office of alder- 
man or member of such a council is not an important one, 
but the contrary is the case. If we analyze the conditions of 
life at the present day, it will be found that a large number 
of matters affecting the daily welfare, happiness and health 
of the citizen come under the authority of a city government. 
So extensive are the powers of a city council that the enu- 
meration of them requires ninety-six separate paragraphs 
of the statute. These powers may be generalized as follows : 

I. The city government, through its council, levies all 



i 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 195 

taxes necessary for the support of the city government and 
directs its financial affairs. 

2. It controls the police force, which is charged with pro- 
tecting life and property and enforcing the laws in all sec- 
tions of the city, and it establishes and maintains the police 
courts. 

3. It supports a fire department. The necessity of the 
proper management of this department of the city govern- 
ment has been made painfully apparent in cities of the 
United States by a series of great conflagrations which, in 
many cases, have destroyed large portions of the city and 
inflicted an enormous loss upon public and private interests. 

4. It has the care of streets, alleys and public grounds, 
including the regulation of the lighting by gas and elec- 
tricity and the construction and control of a system of 
sewerage. It is important that the streets should be of uni- 
form width, with durable pavements, good sidewalks and 
curbs. The question of sewerage and its proper disposal 
is of vital interest, because upon this largely depends the 
health of the people. 

5. It constructs and maintains a system of water works, 
that all citizens in their homes and places of business may 
receive an ample supply of water both for drinking and 
sanitary purposes. The city council has the power of fram- 
ing laws to provide such a system and to maintain and pre- 
serve its efficiency. 

6. It protects the health of the citizens and prevents the 
spread of contagious diseases by the enactment of necessary 
ordinances and by the appointment of a Commissioner of 
Health, whose duty it is to enforce such ordinances and 
laws as may be enacted by the city council or the State leg- 
islature for protecting the health of the people. 

7. It maintains city prisons as an adjunct of the police 



196 STATE GOVERNMENT 

department, in which violators of the law may be confined, 
until such time as their cases are heard by some competent 
court and they are either discharged or committed to the 
county and State institutions. 

8. It supervises and controls the traffic in alcoholic 
liquors, to protect the general welfare of the community. 
The evils of the indulgence in and the misuse of alcoholic 
liquors are apparent in every community, and while the 
manufacture and sale of liquor is not illegal, still it is neces- 
sary to place it under restrictions. 

Therefore, it is provided that any one wishing to engage 
in the sale of liquor, after complying with the laws of the 
State and the United States relating thereto, is also obliged 
to obtain a license from the city government. These licenses 
should be issued only to responsible persons, who will ob- 
serve the laws governing the liquor traffic. Unfortunately, 
in many of our large cities these precautions are not ob- 
served and much of the crime and unhappiness connected 
with life in a great city can be traced to the negligence of 
city officials in respect to this subject. 

9. The regulation of street railroads is another of the 
important duties to be performed by the city government. 
The city council can grant to companies or individuals a 
charter, permitting them to operate railroads upon the 
streets of the city. 

These railroads in large cities have been enormously 
profitable, and frequently the company, after its right to 
conduct a railroad has become vested, has managed its 
affairs with too little regard for the comfort and conveni- 
ence of the public. It is the duty of the city council in 
granting such charters to see that proper precautions are 
taken to protect the citizens. The streets are public prop- 
erty and persons or corporations using them for profit 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 197 

should be required to pay to the city government a proper 
compensation for their use, and to provide suitable accom- 
modations for the convenience of the people. 

10. The city council has authority to regulate the erec- 
tion of private buildings. This may seem an invasion 
of the right of an owner of land to erect a building of such 
size and style of construction as he chooses, but reflection 
will show that unless proper precautions are taken to erect 
buildings of such materials as to prevent the rapid spread of 
fire, and of such construction as to prevent accidents to their 
occupants and people passing upon the streets, and with 
such sanitary arrangements as will protect the health of the 
community, the public is likely to suffer. 

ii. It supervises the management of the charities, public 
hospitals and asylums belonging to the city. 

12. It has the power to prohibit any offensive or unwhole- 
some business or establishment within the city limits and to 
direct the location and regulate the use and construction of 
breweries, packing houses, distilleries, livery stables, black- 
smith shops, soap factories and other buildings used for 
purposes that may be obnoxious to the citizens. 

13. It can establish public libraries and reading rooms for 
the free use of the people and can levy taxes for the support 
of the same. 

The foregoing are among the more important powers and 
duties of the city government. While not complete, this 
summary serves to show the complexity of life in a great 
city and the necessity for an intelligent management of 
public affairs. 

The Executive Department — The Mayor. — The ex- 
ecutive department of the city is represented by the mayor, 
who is the chief executive officer and is elected by the peo- 
ple for a term of two years. He is vested with some control 



198 STATE GOVERNMENT 

over the legislative acts of the city council, because he has 
the power of vetoing any measure which he may deem 
prejudicial to the public interest, and in case of a veto a two- 
thirds vote of the entire city council is required to enact the 
law. He must preside at the meetings of the city council, 
but has no vote except in case of a tie, and then he gives the 
deciding vote. 

The mayor has the authority to appoint all non-elective 
officers of the city and to fill all vacancies in such offices by 
and with the advice and consent of the city council. This 
power is one of great importance, but owing to the enact- 
ment of the civil service law it has been largely curtailed, 
so that at the present time the right of appointment by the 
mayor is restricted to heads of departments and a few offi- 
cers specially exempted from the operation of the civil 
service law.* 

Upon a formal charge, the mayor can remove any officer 
appointed by him if, in his opinion, the interests of the city 
demand such removal, subject, however, to the provisions of 
the civil service law. He may exercise within the city 
limits the powers of the sheriff to suppress disorder and 
keep the peace. He has the right to pardon any person who 
has violated any of the city ordinances. He is required to 
perform all duties prescribed by the city ordinances, to see 
that the laws and ordinances are faithfully executed, to give 
to the city council, from time to time, information concern- 
ing the affairs of the city, and to recommend such meas- 
ures as he may deem proper. In case of malfeasance in of- 
fice he is liable to indictment in any court of competent 
jurisdiction, and on conviction he may be fined in a sum 
not exceeding $ i, ooo and be removed from office. 



♦See page 203. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 199 

Other Executive Officers.— The city council may, in 
its discretion, provide for appointment by the mayor, with 
the approval of the city council, of a Superintendent of 
Streets, a Corporation Counsel and a City Comptroller, or 
any or either of them, and such other officers as the council 
may deem necessary for the proper transaction of the busi- 
ness of the city. 

Taking the City of Chicago as an example, we shall con- 
sider briefly the duties of the more important municipal of- 
ficers, commencing with those which are created by the 
general laws of the State and afterward considering those 
that have been created by the city council. 

Clerk. — The City Clerk has the custody of the corporate 
seal of the city and all papers belonging to the city. He 
must attend all meetings of the city council, keep a record of 
its proceedings and furnish certified copies of the same 
whenever required. In a book specifically prepared for that 
purpose, he records all ordinances passed by the city council 
and upon it must make a memorandum of the date of the 
passage and other proceedings necessary to show that the 
ordinance has been legally adopted by the city council. 

Treasurer. — The City Treasurer is required by law to re- 
ceive all moneys belonging to the city, and to keep his ac- 
counts in such a manner as the city council may prescribe, 
which accounts are always subject to the inspection of any 
member of the city council. Every person paying money 
into the treasury receives from him a receipt specifying the 
date and purpose of payment. He is obliged to furnish a 
monthly statement of the financial affairs of the city and to 
keep all moneys belonging to the city on deposit as directed 
by ordinance. He can pay out money only upon warrants 
drawn upon him, which must be signed by the mayor and 
countersigned by the city comptroller, 



200 STATE GOVERNMENT 

The City Attorney is required to assist the corporation 
counsel and to perform such legal duties as may be re- 
quired of him by the city council or any of its committees. 
He must keep a proper record of all actions in court in 
which he appears, and in which the city is a party, and of 
all proceedings in such suits. The city attorney takes 
charge of those actions which are brought in great num- 
bers every year to recover damages for personal injuries 
occasioned by defective sidewalks, streets and public build- 
ings. He is elected by the people at the same time as the 
mayor, treasurer and clerk. 

Collector. — The City Collector receives certain moneys 
which are due to the city from license fees paid by saloon- 
keepers, peddlers, brokers and others. He must turn over 
his receipts daily to the city treasurer. He also collects 
special assessments levied by the city for street improve- 
ments, as paving, sewers, lamp-posts and sidewalks. 

Comptroller. — The City Comptroller exercises a general 
supervision over all the officers of the city who are in any 
manner charged with the receipt, collection or disbursement 
of the revenues of the city ; he has the custody and control 
of all deeds, leases, warrants, vouchers and papers of any 
kind which are not in charge of other officers. 

He must submit annually to the city council a report of 
his estimates of the money necessary to defray the expenses 
of the city government during the year, and he is also 
required to perform such other financial duties as may be 
imposed upon him by the city council. All orders on the 
city treasurer for the disbursement of money must be coun- 
tersigned by the comptroller. In cities which have no 
comptroller these duties are performed by the city clerk. 
The treasurer, comptroller and clerk, together with their 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 201 

assistants and clerks, constitute the financial department of 
the city government.* 

Civil Service Commission. — The civil service law 
was passed by the legislature in 1895, for the reason that the 
vesting of the power to appoint the thousands of public offi- 
cers in the City of Chicago to their respective positions was 
too important to the welfare of the city and the proper man- 
agement of its interests to be confided to one person. Prior 
to the enactment of this law, it had been more or less custo- 
mary for each mayor upon his accession to office to remove 
a large portion of the employees of the city and to appoint 
others to these positions, the appointees being largely 
chosen from the political party of which the mayor hap- 
pened to be a member. Consequently it followed that no 
city officer had a certain tenure of office and that a large 
majority of the employees were likely to be changed every 
two years. Considering the magnitude of the business 
transacted by the city and the necessity of obtaining officers 
and clerks possessed of ability and experience, these fre- 
quent changes were, undoubtedly, detrimental. In fact, 
the same considerations which have prompted the enact- 
ment of a national civil service law apply with equal force 
to the civil service of cities. 

The civil service law created a Civil Service Commis- 
sion composed of three members, no more than two of 
whom at the time of their appointment can be members of 
the same political party, and none of these commissioners 
can hold any other lucrative office or employment either 
under the United States, the State of Illinois or any munici- 
pality. The commissioners are appointed by the mayor. 
It is their duty to classify all offices and places of employ- 

♦See page 204. 



202 STATE GOVERNMENT 

ment in the city with reference to the examinations of ap- 
plicants for such positions. 

The offices and places so classified by the commission 
constitute the classified civil service of the city, and no 
appointments to any of these positions can be made except 
under the provisions of the civil service law. All appli- 
cants for such positions are required to take an examina- 
tion which must be public, competitive and free to all 
citizens of the United States, subject to such limitations as 
to residence, age, health and moral character as the com- 
missioners may specify by their rules. These examinations 
must be practical in their character and relate to those mat- 
ters which test the relative capacity of the persons examined 
to discharge the duties of the positions to which they seek 
to be appointed, and include tests of physical qualifications, 
health and manual skill. No questions can be asked which 
relate to political or religious opinions or affiliations. 

Whenever the head of any department in the city govern- 
ment notifies the civil service commission that any posi- 
tion in the classified civil service is vacant, the commission 
must certify to the appointing officer the name and address 
of the candidate standing highest upon the list of those who 
have passed the proper examination for such a position, and 
the officer whose duty it is to make an appointment is re- 
quired to appoint the person certified to him by the com- 
mission. In this way the question as to who shall fill a 
particular place in the city government is settled solely by 
competitive examinations, and presumably the best quali- 
fied person is appointed to the office. 

The person so appointed holds his office for a short period 
upon probation, during which time he may be discharged 
with the consent of the commissioners, but after the period 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 203 

of probation has passed no employee in the classified civil 
service can be discharged unless charges in writing against 
him have been filed with the commissioners. In case such 
charges are filed, it is the duty of the commissioners to 
hear and determine the same and their decision is final. 

The classified civil service of the city includes all tne 
officers of the city, with the exception of those who are 
elected by the people, those who are elected by the city 
council pursuant to the city charter, those whose appoint- 
ment is subject to confirmation by the city council, judges 
and clerks of election, members of the board of education, 
the superintendent and teachers of schools, heads of any 
principal department of the city, members of the law de- 
partment and one private secretary to the mayor. With 
these exceptions, the appointment to all offices and places 
of employment in the city must be in accordance with the 
provisions of the civil service law. 

Departments and Their lOfficers.— The foregoing are 
the only officers specifically mentioned by the law of the 
State governing the administration of city affairs, but the 
city council has the power to create such other officers and 
places of employment as it may deem necessary and expe- 
dient for the proper transaction of public business. It 
also fixes the compensation of the persons filling the 
offices so created, defines their duties and limits their terms 
of office, which cannot exceed two years. 

Under this power the city council of every city finds it 
necessary to act, and the number of offices created will 
depend necessarily upon the size of the city, which deter- 
mines the volume of public business to be transacted. 

The City of Chicago will be taken as an example, 
because, for reasons already stated, its government illus- 



204: STATE GOVERNMENT 

trates the powers which may be exercised by city officers 
more completely than that of any other city in the State. 
This city expends annually for municipal purposes more 
than $16,000,000, and it is apparent that a large number of 
officers and employees are needed for the purpose of dis- 
bursing this money wisely and economically and properly 
conducting the numerous branches of public work for 
which it is expended. The business of the city, like that 
of the national government, is divided into departments, 
each of which has a chief officer and numerous subordi- 
nates, for whose conduct he is responsible.* 

The Department of Public Works, as its name indicates, 
has charge of the various public grounds, buildings and 
streets of the city. The Commissioner of Public Works 
is the chief officer of the department, and it is his duty to 
take special charge of all of the public grounds of the city, 
including streets, sidewalks, parks and other tracts of land 
belonging to or under the control of the city. 

The public buildings of the city, such as the city hall, po- 
lice stations, engine houses and pumping stations, and the 
various electric-lighting plants owned by the city, are under 
his control. All street improvements come within the scope 
of his department, and he must supervise expenditures of 
money for any of the objects above named. This impor- 
tant department, with its numerous ramifications, is divided 
into various bureaus, each of which is under the charge of 
a chief officer, who is accountable to the commissioner of 
public works. 

The more important of these officers are the City Engi- 
neer, who prepares the plans and has general supervision 
of the buildings and repairing of bridges, water works, the 



♦The Department of Finance has already been described. See page 201. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 205 

laying of water pipes and the construction of viaducts, and 
all other public work requiring engineering skill ; the 
Superintendent of Streets, who directs the work of improv- 
ing and repairing streets, alleys and sidewalks ; the Super- 
intendent of the Water Office, who has charge of the col- 
lection of water taxes which the city council levies upon 
citizens for the use of the municipal water system ; the 
Superintendent of Sewers, who supervises the construction 
of the sewer system of the city and all repairs and altera- 
tions in the same ; the Superintendent of Maps, who keeps 
a record of all maps and plats of ground in the city and of 
the numbering of houses and other buildings upon the 
various streets. 

The Building Department. — The head of this department 
is the Commissioner of Buildings, and it is his duty to see 
that all ordinances relating to the construction of buildings 
and of elevators are properly enforced, as well as ordi- 
nances preventing destructive fires. He is required to 
inspect all public buildings in the city, such as school- 
houses, churches, theaters and factories, to ascertain 
whether or not they are properly constructed and main- 
tained, and to see that suitable provisions have been made 
for the escape of persons from them in case of fire. 

The ordinances of the city require that workshops and 
factories shall be properly ventilated, have suitable sanitary 
appliances and that their heating apparatus must be in a safe 
condition at all times. It is the duty of the commissioner 
of buildings to see that these laws are enforced. A num- 
ber of inspectors are employed in this department, who 
must be competent to judge whether or not buildings and 
elevators in them are properly constructed and kept in a 
safe condition. 

The Department of Law includes the Corporation Coun- 






206 STATE GOVERNMENT 

sel, the City Attorney, Prosecuting Attorney and their 
assistants. The principal officer of this department is the 
corporation counsel, who is appointed by the mayor and 
who holds his office for the term of two years. He has 
the power of appointing all assistants and clerks in his 
office, and all officers in the law department are expressly 
exempted from the operation of the civil service law. It 
is his duty to superintend, and, with the assistance of the 
City Attorney and the Prosecuting Attorney, to conduct 
all the law business of the city ; to prepare such ordinances 
as are required of him by the city council and all legal 
documents needed in connection with the transaction of 
the city's business. He is also required to furnish written 
opinions upon subjects submitted to him by the mayor or 
the city council or any department of the city government. 

*The Prosecuting Attorney is appointed by the mayor, 
with the advice and consent of the city council, and it is his 
duty to prosecute all actions for the violations of the ordi- 
nances of the city. 

Police Courts. — These courts are held by certain justices 
of the peace, who are designated by the mayor for that 
purpose and are called Police Magistrates. They hold 
court at different police stations in the city of Chicago, and 
all persons arrested by the police are tried before a police 
magistrate. If the person is charged with an offense within 
the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace he is tried and 
fined for his offense, but if the crime with which he is 
charged is of greater magnitude than the law allows jus- 
tices of the peace to hear and determine, he is then com- 
mitted to jail to await the action of the grand jury. Pris- 
oners who are fined by police magistrates are committed 



♦The duties of the City Attorney have been described heretofore. See 
page 200. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 207 

to the house of correction, unless the fine is paid, for vary- 
ing terms, according to the amount of the fine imposed. 

The clerks and bailiffs of police courts are also appointed 
by the mayor, with the advice and consent of the city 
council. The clerk, as in other courts, is required to keep 
a record of the proceedings of the court and to make a 
report of the same to the comptroller and to pay over to 
the treasurer all moneys received from fines. 

House of Correction. — The House of Correction, which is 
a prison maintained by the city government and is com- 
monly known as the Bridewell, is under the control of a 
Board of Inspectors composed of three members, who are 
appointed by the mayor. There is a superintendent of the 
House of Correction, who is appointed by the mayor, and 
must reside at the institution and give all of his time to its 
affairs. Prisoners who are committed by police magistrates 
to this prison for non-payment of fines are required to work 
at some kind of labor and are allowed a credit of fifty cents 
for each day's work, to be applied on the payment of their 
fines. When an amount has been earned equal to the fine 
and the costs of suit, the prisoner is discharged. 

The Department of Health includes the offices of Com- 
missioner of Health, Superintendent of Police, City Physi- 
cian, and such other assistants and employees as the city 
council may prescribe. The officers above named are ap- 
pointed by the mayor, but the appointment of the subor- 
dinate officers of the department is in control of the civil 
service commission. 

It is the duty of the commissioner of health, who is the 
head of the department, to exercise a general supervision 
over the sanitary condition of the city, and for that purpose 
to employ the necessary inspectors and sanitary policemen. 
He must adopt proper measures to arrest the progress of 



208 STATE GOVERNMENT 

malignant, contagious and pestilential diseases, and to see 
that all laws of the State and ordinances of the city in rela- 
tion to sanitary matters are enforced. 

It is an office of the greatest importance to the welfare of 
the people, and consequently the head of the department is 
vested with great powers which he can exercise in case of 
necessity, such as quarantining boats and railway trains and 
compelling the vaccination of persons in proper cases. He 
also has authority to enter houses or other buildings and 
cause them to be cleansed, disinfected or closed, if neces- 
sary, to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. He has 
charge of the city hospital, which is maintained' for the 
proper care of persons who may be committed to it. 

The City Physician is required to give proper medical 
attention to patients in the city hospital, police stations and 
city prisons, and render whatever assistance may be re- 
quired of him by the commissioner of health. 

The Department of Police includes the Superintendent of 
Police, who is the head of the department ; a Secretary to 
the Superintendent, and one Captain of Police for each of 
the police districts into which the city is divided, and such 
number of inspectors, lieutenants, detectives, sergeants and 
patrolmen as may be prescribed by the city council. 

The superintendent or chief of police is appointed by 
the mayor, with the advice and consent of the city council, 
but the appointment of all other police officers is under the 
control of the civil service commission. It is the duty of 
the police department to protect, at all times, the rights of 
persons and property, and to preserve peace and order 
throughout the city, and to see that all laws of the State 
and all ordinances of the city are properly enforced. The 
duties of police officers are so numerous that it is impossi- 
ble to enumerate them except in this general way. The 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 209 

mayor is the head of the police force, but its actual control 
is vested in the chief of police. 

The Fire Department includes a large number of officers. 
The head of the department is the Fire Marshal, who is ap- 
pointed by the mayor, and holds office for a term of two 
years. There are also a number of assistant fire marshals, 
captains, lieutenants, engineers, pipemen, drivers, truckmen 
and telegraph operators, as well as a Superintendent of the 
City Telegraph. 

The fire marshal has absolute control of all of the offi- 
cers and members of the department, and it is his duty to 
take such measures as will protect the citizens from loss by 
fire. To accomplish this, he is vested with extraordinary 
powers, and can cause the removal of any building when- 
ever it shall become necessary to prevent the spread of 
fire, and can destroy any building or other structure for 
that purpose, and, if necessary, cause the same to be blown 
up with powder or otherwise during the progress of the 
fire. 

The fire marshal and his assistants are also vested with 
police powers, and can arrest any disorderly person during 
the time of a fire and for a period of thirty-six hours 
after its extinction. It is the duty of the fire marshal to 
investigate the causes of fires and find the value of the 
property destroyed, and, if possible, to ascertain whether a 
fire was due to accident or to the act of an incendiary. 

The superintendent of the city telegraph has charge of 
all of the telegraph apparatus and work done in connection 
with the operations of the police and fire departments of the 
city. 

Various Inspectors. — There are several branches of in- 
dustry conducted in a great city, which, unless precau- 
tions are taken, might result in great damage to property 



210 STATE GOVERNMENT 

and life. It is, therefore, the duty of the city government 
to arrange for the proper inspection of such kinds of busi- 
ness, and the mayor has the power to appoint inspectors 
for that purpose. Under this power he appoints the Inspec- 
tors of Steam Boilers, the Inspector of Gas Meters, the In- 
spector of Fish, the Inspector of Oil and the Inspector of 
Weights and Measures. It is the duty of these inspectors 
to see that persons carrying on business with the articles 
mentioned so conduct their affairs as not to endanger either 
the life, health or property of the citizen. 

The Public Library is established under ordinances of the 
city council, which have been passed pursuant to the pro- 
visions of the laws of the State. These laws authorize 
any city, town or village to establish a free public library 
and to levy a tax to support it. The Public Library and 
Reading Room of the City of Chicago is under the con- 
trol and management of a board of nine directors, who are 
appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council. 
These directors have sole charge of the management of the 
library and the expenditure of the money raised by taxation 
for its support. They appoint the librarian and assistants 
and make all rules relating to the government of the library. 

Parks and Boulevards.— The principal parks and 
boulevards in the City of Chicago are under the control of 
different Boards of Park Commissioners, existing under 
acts of the legislature. Lincoln Park and the boulevards 
connected with it are under the charge of the Lincoln Park 
Commissioners, who are appointed by the governor and 
confirmed by the senate. The West Park Commissioners 
are appointed in the same way. They have charge of the 

Note.— The School Department of the City exists under the General School 
Law of the State, and therefore its operation will be explained in a subse* 
quent chapter devoted to educational matters. See Chapter XXII, 



THE GOVERNMENT OF CITIES 211 

parks and pleasure drives in the West Division of the city. 
Under a different law, the South Park Commissioners are 
appointed by the judges of the circuit court of Cook 
County. This board has control of the parks in the South 
Division of the city. 

All of these park boards are municipal corporations 
separate and distinct from the county, city or town in which 
the parks and boulevards are situated. They have all pow- 
ers necessary to enable them to establish and maintain 
parks and boulevards, including the power to exercise the 
right of eminent domain* and to levy special assessments 
for improvements and compel payment of the same by the 
persons whose property is benefited thereby. The expense 
of maintaining the parks and boulevards is paid by taxes 
levied by the proper authorities of the different municipali- 
ties in which they are located. 

Sanitary District of Chicago— This is another munici- 
pal corporation, created by the laws of the State, existing 
within the same territory as the City of Chicago and other 
municipalities, but having a separate and independent exist- 
ence. The district was organized for the purpose of estab- 
lishing and maintaining a drainage system by which the 
sewage from the City of Chicago may be diverted from the 
waters of Lake Michigan and carried by a common outlet 
into the Illinois River and thence to the Mississippi River. 
In furtherance of this object, an enormous canal has been 
constructed from the South Branch of the Chicago River 
to the Desplaines River, which is to be filled with water 
from Lake Michigan. The canal has been made of such 
size and constructed in such a manner that the water from 
the lake will pass through it at the rate of 300,000 cubic 

*This right is explained in Chapter XXIII. 



212 STATE GOVERNMENT 

feet per minute, with a current flowing at a rate not ex- 
ceeding three miles per hour. 

The construction of this canal is considered one of the 
great engineering achievements of the age, and the total 
cost of the work is estimated at about $33,000,000, all of 
which has been raised by taxation of the people of the dis- 
trict. 

The affairs of the district are under the control of nine 
Trustees elected by the people and holding office for a term 
of five years. 






CHAPTER XXI. 
ELECTION LAWS. 

In any democratic form of government, founded upon 
the principle that the government derives all of its powers 
from the consent of the governed, there are many ques- 
tions which must be submitted to and decided by the votes 
of the people. All the important executive and judicial 
officers of the State and its subdivisions, members of the 
legislature, county commissioners and city councils are 
elected by the people. Many governmental propositions, 
such as the adoption of township organization by coun- 
ties, the incorporation of villages or cities, the annexation 
of territory to municipalities, the issuing of bonds by coun- 
ties or school districts, and amendments to the constitu- 
tion of the State must be ratified by a vote of the people 
before they become operative. 

Therefore, the method of conducting elections, the qual- 
ifications of the voters, and the various regulations per- 
taining to the exercise of the right of suffrage or the 
elective franchise are matters of prime importance to the 
citizens of the State. 

The right of voting is one of the most valuable preroga- 
tives of citizenship, and the duty of voting and taking part 
in public affairs should never be neglected by patriotic 
citizens. 

Citizens and Voters.— The mistake must not be made 
of supposing that every citizen has the right to vote. The 

(213) 



214 STATE GOVERNMENT 

laws of Illinois restrict the exercise of the right of suffrage 
to those male citizens of the United States above the age 
of twenty-one years who have resided in the State one year, 
in the county ninety days and in the election district thirty 
days next preceding the election.* 

The term "citizen" is very often misunderstood. A citi- 
zen is a person who is a member of a free state, and while 
it is true that all voters must be citizens, it is not true that 
all citizens are voters. All persons who are born within 
the State, regardless of age or sex, are citizens ; persons 
born in other countries may become citizens by complying 
with the laws relating to naturalization.** In the United 
States all persons born or naturalized in the country, 
and subject to the control of its government, are citi- 
zens of the United States and of the State in which they 
reside. This does not include Indians, who are treated 
as a foreign people residing within our borders and pre- 
serving their original tribal form of government. 

The election laws of the State minutely provide for the 
registration of voters,. the receiving and recording of the 
votes, and certifying and declaring the results of elections. 
We will consider first the general law relating to the sub- 
ject, which applies to all parts of the State, and, secondly, 
the special law relating to the holding of elections in cities, 
villages and incorporated towns. 

GENERAL ELECTION LAW OF ILLINOIS. 

This law specifies the officers to be chosen by the votes 
of the people of the State, their term of office and the. 
time of holding the election in each case. This list in- 



* As to the right of women to vote at school elections, see page 244. 
** See page 64. 



ELECTION LAWS 215 

eludes all officers mentioned in the preceding chapters, 
except those who receive their positions by appointment. 

Precincts. — For the purpose of holding elections the 
State is divided into election precincts. In counties under 
township organization each town constitutes an election 
precinct, but towns may be divided into two or more pre- 
cincts. In counties not under township organization the 
territory is divided into election precincts by the board of 
county commissioners. It is not desirable that more than 
four hundred and fifty persons should vote at one place, 
hence all precincts which contain more than four hundred 
and fifty voters are divided into election districts, so that 
each district shall contain as nearly as may be practicable 
four hundred voters, thus requiring a frequent rearrange- 
ment of election districts. 

Polling Place. — There must be one polling place in each 
district, located upon the ground floor and in the front 
room of a building, with entrance from a public street at 
least forty feet in width, and as near the center of the 
voting population of the district as is practicable. In no 
case shall an election be held in any room used or occupied 
as a saloon, billiard hall, bowling alley, or in any place of 
resort for idlers and disreputable persons. 

Judges and Clerks. — Three judges of election are ap- 
pointed by the county board to superintend the election 
in each precinct or district and to see that the law relating 
to the holding of elections is strictly observed. A person 
to hold the office of judge of election must be of fair char- 
acter, approved integrity, well informed, able to read, write 
and speak the English language, and who has resided in 
the election district for one year before the election and is 
entitled to vote therein. The judges of election choose 



216 STATE GOVERNMENT 

three persons who have qualifications similar to their own 
to act as clerks of the election. 

The Election. — A notice of the holding of any general 
election must be given by the county clerk at least thirty 
days before the time of holding the election, and copies of 
this notice must be posted in three of the most public 
places in each district. The polls are open at the hour of 
eight o'clock in the morning, and continue open until seven 
o'clock in the afternoon of the same day. 

Before any ballot is deposited in the ballot box, the box 
must be publicly opened and exhibited, and the judges and 
clerks shall see that no ballot is inside, after which it 
is locked and the key delivered to one of the judges, and the 
box must not be opened again until after the close of the 
polls. Each clerk of the election is required to keep a poll 
list containing the names of each person voting in regular 
succession. The voting is done by ballots, which are 
written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, 
upon blank paper, with the name of each candidate voted 
for and the title of the offices, and contain the names of all 
candidates for which the elector intends to vote. 

Counting the Votes. — Upon the closing of the polls the 
judges canvass the votes, and the clerks make a record of 
the number of votes which each candidate has received. 
When the votes have been examined and counted the 
clerks are required to make certificates of the result, which 
are signed by the judges of election. One such certificate 
is delivered to the county clerk, another mailed to the sec- 
retary of state, and another deposited with the town clerk 
in the case of counties under township organization, and 
in other counties the third list is retained by one of the 
judges. 

Within seven days after the closing of the election the 



ELECTION LAWS 217 

county clerk of each county, with the assistance of two 
justices of the peace of the county, open the returns 
and make abstracts of the votes, and when this has been 
done the county clerk is required to issue certificates of 
election to the various candidates having the highest num- 
ber of votes for the several county offices. In the case of 
candidates for State offices, the county clerk sends a com- 
plete abstract of votes to the secretary of state, to be can- 
vassed by other officers, as required by law in each case. 

Miscellaneous Provisions. — The law also contains numer- 
ous provisions for the prevention of fraud or improper 
conduct either on the part of the voters or the judges or 
clerks of election, or other persons who may be interested 
in the result of the election. The object of these laws is 
to obtain, by means of an election, a full, free and fair 
expression of the wishes of the voters upon the questions 
submitted to them ; to prevent any attempts to influence 
the will of the individual voters by bribery, intimidation 
or other corrupt practices, and to secure a fair and honest 
count of the ballots after they have been cast.* 

If all citizens thoroughly understood their rights and 
duties with reference to the elective franchise, such laws 
would probably be unnecessary, but, unfortunately, the 
history of election proceedings has shown that the con- 
trary is the case. 

REGISTRY OF VOTERS. 
It is of prime importance that the elective franchise be 
exercised by none but qualified voters, and, therefore, the 
legislature has enacted a general law for the registry of 
electors and to prevent fraudulent voting. By this law 
the judges of election in each precinct or district are con- 

*See Chapter XLVI, Revised Statutes, Sees. 79 to 93. 



218 STATE GOVERNMENT 

stituted a board of registry for the district, and are re- 
quired to meet on Tuesday, three weeks before the elec- 
tion, and make a register of all persons qualified to vote at 
the ensuing election. 

The register must contain a list of the persons entitled 
to vote, alphabetically arranged, showing in one column 
the name, and, in another column, in cities, the residence 
by the number of the dwelling house and the name of the 
street, or other location of the dwelling place of each 
person. One copy of this register is filed with the proper 
municipal officer; another is kept by one of the judges for 
revision, and a third copy is posted in a conspicuous place 
where the last preceding election in the district was held. 
A second meeting of the board must be held before the 
election, for the purpose of revising, correcting and com- 
pleting the lists. 

After the registry has been revised and corrected the 
board must make two copies of the same, one of which is 
filed in the office of the town or city clerk, and the other 
is delivered to the judges of election, to be preserved for 
use on election day. Two of the judges must be present 
on the election day and check the name of every voter 
voting in the district whose name is on the register. No 
vote can be received if the name of the person offering to 
vote is not on the register, unless such person shall furnish 
his affidavit in writing, showing that he is entitled to vote, 
and prove the fact further by the oath of a householder 
and registered voter of the district. This process is ordi- 
narily called "swearing in a vote." 

The clerk of the election is required to enter on the poll 
list, which is simply a list of voters kept by him, opposite 
the name of each person voting, the same memorandum 
as is required to be entered on the registry list, and every 



ELECTION LAWS 219 

elector, at the time of offering his vote, must truly state his 
place of residence. 

Any person who shall cause his name to be registered 
in more than one election district, or who shall cause his 
name to be registered, knowing that he is not a qualified 
voter in the district, or who falsely personates any regis- 
tered voter, is liable to punishment by imprisonment in the 
State prison for not less than one year. 

The foregoing are the main provisions of the general 
election law under which elections are held in all parts of 
the State, except in those municipalities which have adopted 
the provisions of an act, originally passed in the year 1885 
and subsequently amended, to regulate the holding of elec- 
tions in cities, villages and incorporated towns of this State. 

ELECTIONS IN CITIES, VILLAGES AND INCORPO- 
RATED TOWNS. 

This law may be adopted by the electors of any city, vil- 
lage or town in this State, provided a majority of the votes 
cast at an election to be held for the purpose of submitting 
to the voters the question of adopting the provisions of the 
act shall be in favor of its adoption. The City of Chicago 
and other important places have availed themselves of the 
privilege, and have, by the votes of the people, abandoned 
the general State law and adopted this act, because the pro- 
visions of it are more likely to insure purity and honesty in 
elections than those of the general law, particularly in popu- 
lous communities. 

Election Commissioners. — In every city adopting this act 
there is created a Board of Election Commissioners, com- 
posed of three members, appointed by the county court. 
Two of these commissioners, at least, shall always be 
selected from the two leading political parties of the State, 



£20 STATE GOVERNMENT 

one from each of those parties ; they shall be legal voters 
and householders, residing in the city, and men of well- 
known political convictions, of approved integrity and 
capacity. 

The board of election commissioners is organized by 
choosing one of their number as chairman and one as secre- 
tary. They must at once secure an office suitable for the 
transaction of their business, which office shall be kept open 
every day during business hours, except Sundays and holi- 
days. It is the duty of the board to provide all necessary 
ballot boxes and all registry books, poll books, tally sheets, 
blanks and stationery of every description, which are needed 
for the registry of voters and the conduct of elections. 

Precincts. — Within two months after the organization of 
the board, it is its duty to divide the city into election pre- 
cincts, each of which shall contain, as nearly as practicable, 
three hundred actual voters, the basis on which the division 
is made being the number of votes cast at the previous presi- 
dential election. The precincts are subject to rearrange- 
ment at stated periods. 

Registration. — After the first organization of the board of 
commissioners, it must prepare for a new and general reg- 
istration of voters for the next general election to be held 
in the city. At least sixty days prior to such an election, the 
commissioners are required to select as judges of election 
three electors in each precinct. The persons so selected 
must be citizens of the United States, legal voters of good 
repute and character, who can speak, read and write the 
English language, and skilled in the four fundamental rules 
of arithmetic. Two clerks for each precinct must also be 
selected by the commissioners within the same time, who 
are required to possess substantially the same qualifications 



ELECTION LAWS 221 

as the judges. In a similar manner judges and clerks are 
selected for subsequent elections. 

It. is also the duty of the board of commissioners to ap- 
point the place of registry and the polling place in each pre- 
cinct in the city, to give public notice thereof, to cause the 
place to be warmed, lighted and cleaned; the place so 
selected in each precinct shall be in the most public, orderly 
and convenient portion thereof, and must not be in a build- 
ing in which intoxicating liquor is sold. 

How the Register Is Made. — The judges of election consti- 
tute the Board of Registry in each precinct, and, with the 
election clerks, are required to make a general registration 
of all voters in the precinct in every year in which a congres- 
sional election occurs, and just prior thereto. The first day 
of such registration is on Tuesday, four weeks preceding 
the election, the second day of registration being Tuesday, 
three weeks before the election. The election commis- 
sioners must furnish to the board of registry three books, 
two of which are prepared substantially as shown at the 
top of the following page. 

The third book is called the Public Register, and contains 
only two columns, headed Residence and Name. The public 
register must be hung up on or before noon of the follow- 
ing day at the place of registration, so as to be accessible to 
the public during all business hours. At the second meet- 
ing of the board of registration all qualified voters who 
have for any reason failed to register at the first meeting, 
may appear and demand that their names be placed upon 
the list. 

A study of the following sample page of a registry book 
will show the nature of the inquiry which must be made 
by the judges to determine whether or not a man is enti- 
tled to vote: 






222 



STATE GOVERNMENT 



REGISTER OF VOTER 


S 












ADDRESS. 


NATIVITY. 


Term of Residence. 


6 
> 


u 


RESIDENCE. 


o 

c 

'o 
p 
u 

a- 


o 
O 


6 
CO 


240 Ohio St 

205 Ontario St. ... 
150 Dearborn Ave. 
131 Clark St 


Ames, John J.- 
Allen, John 

Austin, George 
Mueller, Jacob. 


Iowa 

England . . 
Georgia. ._ 
Germany _ 


6mos. 
3 mos. 
3 days 

2 yrs. 


2 yrs. 

3 yrs. 

5 yrs. 

6 yrs. 


10 yrs. 

5 yrs. 

6 yrs. 
6 yrs. 


Yes 
Yes 


I 



Verification Lists. — The election commissioners must fur- 
nish the board of registry in each precinct a blank book, 
called Verification Lists. 

The names of all registered voters must be transferred by 
the clerks to the left-hand page of the verification lists, 
and it is the duty of the clerks of election, upon the Wednes- 
day and Thursday following the second day of registration, 
to canvass the precinct, calling at each dwelling house where 
any one may reside, as indicated in the verification lists, 
and ascertain whether or not the person claiming the right 
to vote resides at the place stated, and if the canvass dis- 
closes that there are any persons on the register who do not 
live at the places stated, a notice is sent to said person, re- 
quiring him to appear before the board of registry upon 



I 



ELECTION LAWS 



223 



























t/3 

X 






•a 


















s~ 






<D 






(1) 




TJ 




DATE OF 




be 

e 
c 


o 


Date of 








n 






P 




VTURALIZA- 
TION 


COURT. 


U 

o 


> 


Application 
for 


3 




-6 


OB 

i 


«j 


oj 


REMARKS. 


PAPERS. 




V 




Registry. 


P 


•a 






M 

o 


B 







O 








< 


OJ 




>i 


00 

ad 


01 


o 


u 


4> 
4-1 








>> 


3 




£ 


I* 


0) 


>» 


►> 











PQ 


a 




w 


^ 


pq 


BQ 


> 










Yes 
Yes 


Oct. 5,1885 
Oct. 5,1885 
















iy 27, 1871. 










Not known 




No. 
Yes 


Oct. 12, 1885 
Oct. 12, 1885 
















ly 1,1868.. 


Baltimore 


-- 





the Saturday following, and show cause why his name 
should not be erased from the register. 

On the right-hand page of the verification lists the can- 
vassers must write down the names of persons living at 
the various dwelling places who are not registered voters. 
This list of non-registered voters is used as the basis for 
jury lists, the persons selected for jury service being taken 
from this list until it is exhausted.* 

Each page of the verification lists is ruled in three col- 
umns, and the left-hand page marked as follows : 



♦Citizens frequently seek to evade the duty of serving on a jury; there- 
fore the law imposes this duty first upon non-registered voters, for the 
purpose of encouraging a full registration. By registering for election pur- 
poses, a citizen is much more likely to escape jury service than would other- 
wise be the case. 






zu 



STATE GOVERNMENT 
REGISTERED NAMES. 



Street 


(Name) 




Number. 


Street. 


Names. 
































And the pages on the right-hand side shall be marked thus : 
NAMES NOT REGISTERED. 


Street 


(Name) . . 




Number. 


Street. 


Names. 







































The board of registry must also hold a third meeting on 
the Saturday following the Tuesday three weeks preceding 
the election for the sole purpose of revising their register, 
but at this meeting no new name can be added. 

At every election held between the general registrations 
already mentioned the registry list shall be revised in each 



ELECTION LAWS 225 

precinct, on Tuesday, three weeks preceding the election, at 
which time additional names may be added to the list. 
These registration lists must be returned to the board of 
election commissioners and kept by them until required 
for use on election day. On election day two registers, to- 
gether with the ballot-box for each precinct and all neces- 
sary poll books, blanks and stationery, are delivered to the 
judges of election. 

The Election. — The polls are open at 6 o'clock in the 
morning and continue open until 4 o'clock in the afternoon. 
During all of this time the judges and clerks must be pres- 
ent, an absence of more than five minutes at any time being 
forbidden. Before voting begins the ballot box must be 
opened and shown to those present to be empty, and must 
not be removed from public view from the time when it is 
shown until after the close of the polls. Each of the clerks 
of election shall keep a poll book, which contains a column 
headed "Number," another headed "Residence" and another 
headed "Names of Voters," and the name of each of the 
electors voting shall be entered upon each poll book by the 
clerks in regular succession. 

Counting the Vote. — Immediately after the polls are closed 
the judges of election in the different precincts begin to can- 
vass the votes cast and the canvass cannot be adjourned or 
postponed until it has been completed. The process of 
counting the ballots is provided in detail by statute, and the 
most explicit arrangements have been made to prevent a 
false count in the case of any candidate or proposition sub- 
mitted to vote. 

When the canvass has been completed and the poll clerks 
have announced to the judges the total number of votes 
received by each candidate, each of the judges of election 
in turn must proclaim in a loud and distinct tone of voice 



226 STATE GOVERNMENT 

the total number of votes received by each person voted for 
in the precinct and the number of votes for or against any 
proposition submitted at the election. 

Stating the Result. — The judges of election are required to 
make and sign quadruple statements of the result of the 
canvass, one of which is placed in each of the poll books 
used at the election. The statement is made to show a full 
compliance with the provisions of the law in the holding of 
the election and its result. Each of the statements, except 
those contained in the poll books, shall be inclosed in an 
envelope and sealed up, and the judges and clerks of election 
must write their names across every fold at which the en- 
velope, if unfastened, could be opened. One of the envel- 
opes shall be directed to the county clerk and one to the 
city comptroller. In a similar manner the tally-sheets are 
inclosed in separate envelopes, one being directed to the 
election commissioners and the other to the city clerk. 

The poll books and the statements contained in them are 
placed in the ballot box, and the ballot box is then locked, 
the key removed, the box sealed, and a slip of paper con- 
taining the names of the judges of election is pasted over 
the keyhole and upper lid of the box in such a way that if 
the box is opened it will tear the paper and mutilate the sig- 
natures of the judges. The ballot box and its contents are 
then delivered by one of the judges of election to the elec- 
tion commissioners, and one of the judges representing the 
political party opposed to that of the judge who takes the 
ballot box is required to receive and hold the key to the 
box. Each of the statements of the vote and the tally- 
sheets are delivered by different judges and clerks to the 
person designated by law to receive the same. 

The Official Count. — Within seven days after the close of 
the election the canvassing board, which is composed of 



ELECTION LAWS 227 

the election commissioners, the county judge and the city 
attorney, open all returns and make abstracts or state- 
ments of the votes. It is the duty of this board of can- 
vassers to add and declare the result of every election 
held within the boundaries of the city or village, and the 
county court shall, thereupon, enter of record such abstract 
and result and a certified copy of this record is filed with 
the county clerk, who issues the certificates of election in 
the same manner as has been described in the general elec- 
tion law of the State. 

The law contains provisions for the prevention of fraud 
in the registration of voters and improper or fraudulent 
conduct at elections. It provides for the proper punish- 
ment of every kind of fraudulent practice in connection 
with elections.* 

THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT. 

In 1891 the legislature of the State, to still further pro- 
mote honesty and purity in holding elections, enacted a law 
for the printing and distribution of ballots at public expense 
and for the nomination of candidates for public offices, to 
regulate the manner of holding elections and to enforce the 
secrecy of the ballot. This system is called the Australian 
system, because it is a modification of a plan which was first 
used with favorable results in Australia.** The principal 
merit of the law is that it enables a voter to cast his bal- 
lot in a secret manner so that no person other than himself 
can tell for whom he votes. 



♦See Chapter XLVI, Revised Statutes, Sees. 255 to 276. 

♦♦This system was first proposed by Hon. Francis S. Dutton, a member of 
the legislature of South Australia. It was embodied in the laws of Australia 
in 1857, and its principal features have been adopted in Canada and many of 
the States of the United States. See Peterman's Elements of Civil Govern- 
ment, Chapter XIX, which contains an excellent account of the system as 
used in different States. 



228 STATE GOVERNMENT 

Prior to the enactment of this law it -was customary to 
have ballots printed for the candidates of the different polit- 
ical parties, varying somewhat in form or in the texture or 
color of the paper used, so that a careful watcher could 
ascertain what ticket was voted by the different voters. 
Under the Australian system all of the ballots are exactly 
alike, and each ballot contains the names of all candidates 
before the people. The secrecy of the ballot is desirable, 
because with a secret ballot, bribery is discouraged, there 
being no means of knowing whether or not a corrupt voter 
votes as he has promised to do. 

Ballots. — This law provides that in all elections for public 
officers, except school officers and officers of road districts, 
the voting shall be by ballots printed and distributed at pub- 
lic expense. The printing and delivery of the ballots and 
other necessary stationery must be paid for by the several 
municipalities in which the election is held. 

Nominations. — Any convention of delegates representing 
a political party which, at the general election next preced- 
ing, polls at least two per cent of the entire votes cast in the 
State or the municipality for which the nomination is made, 
may make one nomination for each office to be filled at the 
election, by causing a certificate of nomination to be duly 
filed. This certificate must contain the names of the candi- 
dates and specify the office for which each is nominated, the 
party or political principles which they represent, their 
places of residence, with the street and number. In case of 
an election for President or Vice-President of the United 
States the certificate may contain the names of the candi- 
dates for those offices. 

Other nominations may be made by the voters of the 
State by nomination papers signed in the aggregate for each 
candidate by not less than 1,000 qualified voters of the State. 



ELECTION LAWS 



229 



These certificates of nomination must be filed, in the case of 
candidates for offices to be filled by the electors of the en- 
tire State, or any part thereof greater than a county, with 
the secretary of state, at least thirty days prior to the 
election. Other certificates for nomination of candidates 
shall be filed with the county clerk within the same time, 
and, in case of the nomination of candidates for offices in 
cities, villages and towns, the certificates must be filed with 
the clerks of those municipalities respectively. 

The Official Ballot. — The names of all candidates so nomi- 
nated who are to be voted for in each election precinct or 
district shall be printed on one ballot, which is called the 
"official ballot." The kind of paper to be used and the siz£ 
and style of type are all specified in detail by the law, and, 
as near as practicable, the ballot must be in the following 
form : 



O DEMOCRATIC. 

For Governor 
a JOHN M. PALMER. 
For Lieutenant Governor 
D ANDREW J. BELL. 

For Secretary of State 
d NEWELL D. RICKS. 



O REPUBLICAN. 

For Governor 
a JOSEPH W. FIFER. 
For Lieutenant Governor 
d LYMAN B. RAY. 

For Secretary of State 
dI. N. PEARSON. 



O PROHIBITION. 

For Governor 
d DAVID H. HARTS. 
For Lieutenant Governor 
aJOS. L. WHITLOCK. 
For Secretary of State 
d JAMES R. HANNA. 



Whenever a constitutional amendment or other public 
measure is proposed to be voted upon a separate ballot is 
provided, which is substantially as follows : 



Proposed amendment to the constitution giving judges a life 
term of office and making them appointive. 



YES. 
NO. 



Voting. — In every polling place a sufficient number of 
booths must be provided, which shall be furnished with the 



230 STATE GOVERNMENT 

necessary pens and stationery, and every voter is required to 
enter one of these booths to prepare his ballot, free from 
the observation of all persons. 

Any person who desires to vote presents himself before 
the judges and gives his name and residence. Thereupon 
one of the judges announces the same in a loud and distinct 
tone of voice, and if the name of the voter is found on the 
register the judge gives the voter one, and only one, ballot, 
on the back of which the judge shall indorse his initials. 

The voter, on receipt of his ballot, immediately retires 
alone to one of the voting booths and prepares his ballot by 
making in the appropriate margin or place a cross [X] op- 
posite the name of the candidate of his choice for each office 
to be filled, and, in case of a question submitted to the vote 
of the people, by making in the appropriate margin or place 
a cross against the answer he desires to give ; provided, how- 
ever, if he desires to vote for all of the candidates of one 
political party, he may place such mark in the circular 
space opposite the name of such political party. 

Before leaving the voting booth, the voter must fold his 
ballot in such a manner as to conceal the marks he has made 
on it. He then emerges from the booth and gives the ballot 
to the judge in charge of the ballot-box, who places it in 
the box. 

Such in substance is the method of voting under the Aus- 
tralian system, and in every community where it has been 
introduced its workings and results have been satisfactory, 
so that now it is doubtful if the system will ever be changed. 

Primaries. — In the broadest sense of the term, these 
are elections held by a political party, or by any voluntary 
political association, for the purpose of choosing delegates 
to political conventions, members of various managing 
committees of the party, and sometimes for the nomination 



ELECTION LAWS 231 

of candidates for public office. Under the general law of 
the State, such an election may be held in the manner pro- 
vided by the rules of the party holding it, or it may be con- 
ducted according to the requirements of the "Primary Elec- 
tion Law." 

Whenever it is desired by any party to hold a primary 
election under the provisions of this act, a resolution, stat- 
ing that the primary will be so held, must be adopted by 
the committee having general charge of the party affairs. 
It then becomes the duty of the committee to fix the time 
and place of holding the primary, to appoint three judges 
and two clerks of election to serve at each polling place, to 
publish notice of the purpose, time and place of holding the 
primary election, with a description of each primary elec- 
tion district, and the names of the persons selected to act 
as judges and clerks. 

By another enactment of the legislature, primary elections 
for delegates to nominating conventions must be held under 
the provisions of a special law relating thereto, in every 
county, city or incorporated town, where the names of can- 
didates are printed on official election ballots. Under this 
law, the various precincts are grouped into primary election 
districts, each of which must not contain more than one 
thousand voters belonging to the party holding the pri- 
mary. 

Fifteen days before the time fixed for holding the primary 
election, an official call must be filed with the election com- 
missioners, and in cases where there are no election com- 
missioners having jurisdiction of the matter, the call must 
be filed with the county clerk. This call sets forth the name 
of the party, and the address of its managing committee, 
the day on which the primary is to be held, the name, place 
and time of the convention for which delegates are to be 



232 STATE GOVERNMENT 

chosen, the description of the primary districts, together 
with the names of the judges and clerks, and the location of 
the polling place in each district, and the name of some 
newspaper recommended for the publication of the notice 
of such election. 

At least ten days before the primary election day, the 
election commissioners, or the county clerk, as the case 
may be, must publish a notice of the election, containing 
substantially the statements set forth in the official call. 

Every legal voter entitled to vote at regular elections, 
residing within the primary election district, who is a 
member of the political party holding the primary election, 
is qualified to vote at such election. Generally speaking, 
the method of voting at primary elections is the same as at 
regular elections. The law contains sufficient provisions to 
secure a full, free and fair expression of the will of the 
voters at these elections, and severe penalties are imposed 
for violation of any of its requirements. 






CHAPTER XXII. 
THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. 

It may be asserted with pride by the citizens of Illinois 
that its local political institutions received their first im- 
petus from the common-school system inaugurated in the 
early days of the Territory. As the church furnished the 
center for the growth of the township in New England, so 
the schoolhouse and the organization of the school town- 
ship in Illinois prompted the beginning of local govern- 
mental institutions. 

The beginning of the school system of Illinois was the 
provision of the enabling act, by which one section or 
square mile of land in each township was required to be 
set apart as the basis of a common-school fund, and the 
history of the State shows that from the earliest period of 
its existence down to the present time it has always been 
the special aim and object of its government to provide a 
system of public schools, so that all the children of the 
State may receive a good common-school education. 

In a free commonwealth, where every one shares in the 
responsibilities of the government, the general education 
of the people is a public necessity, since there should be 
an enlightened public opinion to which those charged with 
the performance of public duties can appeal for support. 
For this reason every State in the Union provides for the 
education of its children, that they may become qualified 
to exercise the rights and fulfill the duties of citizenship. 

(233) 



234 STATE GOVERNMENT 

Constitutional Provisions. — Education has always been 
a matter of special solicitude on the part of the framers of 
our government, and for this reason one entire article of 
the constitution of the State is devoted to the subject. 

This article requires that the general assembly shall 
provide a system of free schools, in which all children of 
this State may receive a good common-school education; 
and that all grants and gifts for educational purposes and 
the proceeds thereof shall be applied faithfully to the 
objects for which they were made. 

That religious differences may not influence the manage- 
ment of the public schools or interfere with their efficient 
operation, the constitution prohibits the legislature, and 
every municipality in the State, from expending, or at- 
tempting to expend, any public money for the support of 
any church, and from helping to sustain or support any 
school or literary institution of any kind under the control 
of any church or sectarian denomination. 

These provisions of the constitution meet with the ap- 
proval of all citizens of the State, regardless of their 
religious affiliations, and by general consent all religious 
instruction in the sectarian sense has been excluded from 
the public schools of Illinois. 

To ensure honesty in the management of school affairs, 
the constitution forbids any teacher, state, county, town- 
ship or district school officer from being interested in the 
sales, proceeds or profits of any book, apparatus or furni- 
ture used, or to be used, in any school in this State, with 
which he is connected. 

The constitution also provides for the election of a 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, who is one of the 
executive officers of the State, and for the election of a 
County Superintendent in each county of the State. The 



THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 235 

duties of these, as well as of all other school officers, are 
determined by the general school law of the State. 

General School Law of the State. — In accordance with 
these mandates of the constitution, the general assembly, 
in the year 1872, enacted a school law which practically 
superseded and repealed all school laws then existing, 
except those contained in special acts and charters, and 
provided in detail for the administration of school affairs 
in every part of the State. This law since its enactment 
has been amended and revised, and in its present form 
went into effect on May 21, 1889. 

We shall now consider its provisions, for the purpose of 
showing the completeness of the system and how it has 
been adapted and modified so as to be applicable to every 
community, from the smallest village to the most populous 
city. 

State Superintendent. — This officer is elected every four 
years by the people of the entire State and is the head of 
the educational system. He must have an office at the 
capitol of the State, and file and preserve all papers, rec- 
ords and public documents coming into his hands relating 
to the educational affairs of the State. He is the super- 
visor of all the public schools of the State, and is required 
to be informed fully, by reading, observation and consul- 
tation with educational authorities, as to the best manner 
of conducting common schools. He is the adviser of the 
county superintendents, and must, from time to time, give 
them such information as he shall deem to be for the best 
interests of the schools under their charge. 

Prior to each session of the general assembly, he must 
report to the governor the condition of the schools in the 
different counties of the State, giving information and sta- 
tistics in detail. He is the legal adviser of all school 






236 STATE GOVERNMENT 



officers, and must give to them, upon request, a written 
opinion upon any questions arising under the school laws. 
These opinions are binding upon school officers, and have 
all the force of laws until they have been overruled by a 
court of record. 

He also exercises certain judicial powers in hearing and 
determining all controversies arising under the school laws 
which are certified to him by the different county superin- 
tendents. His powers enable him to insist that he school 
laws of the State shall be faithfully observed and followed 
by all school officers. 

County Superintendents. — Each county has a Superintend- 
ent of Schools, who is elected every four years by the peo- 
ple of the county. The county board is required to furnish 
him with an office, fixtures and office supplies. His prin- 
cipal duties consist in visiting the schools of the county, 
noting the methods of instruction, the branches taught and 
the text-books used, and giving to teachers and school offi- 
cers such instructions and directions in the science, art and 
method of teaching and course of study as he may deem 
expedient and necessary. He acts as the official adviser of 
school officers and teachers of his county, and must faith- 
fully carry out all instructions given by the State superin- 
tendent. He is required to elevate the standard of the 
teachers and to improve the condition of the common 
schools of his county in every practicable way. 

He examines the books, accounts and vouchers of the 
township treasurer, and the notes, bonds, mortgages and 
other securities which are held by that officer. He must 
provide for the examination of persons seeking appoint- 
ment as teachers in the county, and grant certificates of 
qualification to those who pass the required examinations. 

He is authorized to bring suit against financial officers 



THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 237 

of the county who fail to comply with the school law, and 
can remove school directors from office for willful failure 
to perform their duties. 

Township Trustees. — The school business of the town- 
ship is transacted by three trustees, who are elected by the 
legal voters of the township. The trustees meet semi- 
annually in the months of April and October. At these 
meetings they apportion all State, county and township 
funds on hand among the different districts of the town- 
ship in which schools have been kept as required by law. 
After these funds have been so apportioned, they are 
placed on the books of the Township Treasurer to the 
credit of the respective districts and are paid out on the 
order of the directors of the different districts. 

These trustees are also required to make detailed re- 
ports to the county superintendent as to the condition of 
the schools in the various townships, the number of pupils 
attending the same, and other statistics, and give a full 
statement of the manner in which the educational funds of 
the township have been expended. They hold the legal 
title to all schoolhouses and schoolhouse sites in the town- 
ship, and are authorized to receive gifts, grants and dona- 
tions for the use of the schools within their township. 

Upon the petition of not less than fifty voters in the 
township an election may be had to determine whether or 
not the people desire to establish a township high school. 
If the question is decided affirmatively, another election 
must be had to select a township board of education, con- 
sisting of five members, who shall have charge of the 
establishment and maintenance of the township high 
school. 

Township trustees must divide the township into school 
districts and prepare a map of the township, designating 



238 STATE GOVERNMENT 

the different districts into which it is divided. They have 
full power to divide or consolidate districts, organize new 
districts and change the boundaries of districts upon peti- 
tion of the legal voters whose interests are affected. 

Township Treasurer. — This officer is appointed by the 
board of trustees of the township, and must give a suitable 
bond for the faithful performance of his duties. He is 
the custodian of the school fund of the township and of all 
securities belonging to the same. He must keep books 
of account, the form of which is determined by law, and he 
has the power to loan school money belonging to the 
township, but in exercising this power he is required to 
follow numerous provisions of the statute. The office of 
township treasurer is an important one, and the law holds 
him strictly accountable for the proper disposition of the 
funds of the township. 

Board of Directors. — After the township has been divided 
into districts by the township trustees, three directors are 
elected in each district, who have charge and control of 
the schools. 

The duties of the Board of Directors of each district are 
to make all reports to the County Superintendent as re- 
quired by law, giving the details of the school business of 
the district, and to ascertain and certify the amount of 
money which must be raised by taxation to support the 
schools of the. district in each year. This certificate fur- 
nishes the basis of the tax levy for school purposes. 

They must establish and keep in operation for at least 
one hundred and ten days in each year a sufficient number 
of free schools to accommodate all children in the district 
over the age of six and under the age of twenty-one years ; 
they must secure for all such children an equal participation 



THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 239 

in the benefits of the school system. They can adopt and 
enforce all necessary rules and regulations for the manage- 
ment and government of schools. They must inspect the 
schools from time to time, appoint all teachers and fix their 
salaries. They must direct what branches of study shall be 
taught and what text-books and apparatus shall be used in 
the several schools, and they can purchase, at the expense 
of the district, a sufficient number of text-books to supply 
children whose parents are unable to purchase them. In 
short, they have all the powers which are needed to accom- 
plish the establishment and maintenance of public schools 
in their respective districts as required by the constitution 
of this State. 

Boards of Education in Certain Districts. — In all 
school districts having a population of not less than one 
thousand and not more than one hundred thousand inhab- 
itants, a Board of Education, consisting of at least six 
members, is chosen by popular vote. Three additional 
members are chosen for every additional ten thousand in- 
habitants. Another member, styled the President of the 
Board of Education, is also elected annually. 

The board of education has the powers of school direc- 
tors, and, in addition, it has the power to establish and 
support free schools for not less than six, nor more than ten, 
months in each year; to repair and improve schoolhouses 
and to furnish them with the necessary fixtures, furniture 
and apparatus ; to establish schools of different grades and 
make regulations for the admission of pupils. They levy a 
tax annually upon the taxable property of the district to 
support and maintain the schools ; they can employ a super- 
intendent of schools and pay him a salary and divide the dis- 
trict into sub-districts whenever necessary. 






240 STATE GOVERNMENT 

Boards of Education in Cities of 100,000 Inhabi- 
tants. — In cities of this class, of which Chicago is the only 
example, the school affairs are under the control of a Board 
of Education, consisting of twenty-one members. These 
members are appointed by the mayor, with the advice and 
consent of the common council. Any person who has 
resided in the city more than five years next preceding his 
appointment is eligible to membership. The officers of the 
board are a President and Vice-President, who are elected 
annually by its members from their own number, and a 
Secretary, who is also elected by the board, but is not a 
member of it. 

Administrative Officers. — The law authorizes the board 
of education to appoint such other officers and employes 
as it deems necessary for the proper administration of 
school affairs. In the City of Chicago a large number of 
officers are required for this purpose, the more important 
of which are the following : 

The Superintendent, who has general charge of the educa- 
tional work of the board. He is the principal executive 
officer of the board, as well as its adviser upon all school 
matters. He visits the schools as often as practicable and 
observes the discipline and methods of instruction em- 
ployed. He supervises the examination of teachers and 
makes recommendations to the board as to their employ- 
ment, promotion and removal. He also advises the board 
concerning the text-books and apparatus used in the schools 
and the changes and improvements which should be made 
in them. He is assisted in the performance of his duties by 
district superintendents. 

The Cleric and School Agent, who keeps the records of the 
board and acts as its financial agent in the collection of 
rentals from school-fund property and the income from 



THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 241 

school funds. He also makes up and certifies the payrolls 
of the teachers. 

The Business Manager. — This officer has a great variety 
of duties to perform in connection with the award of con- 
tracts, the purchase of supplies and the general care and 
maintenance of the school buildings and property of the 
board. 

The Chief Engineer, who has charge of the heating and 
ventilating apparatus in the school buildings. He is the 
superior officer of the engineers and janitors of the various 
school buildings and must see that each building is kept in 
a proper sanitary condition. 

The Architect superintends the erection and alteration of 
school buildings. It is his special duty to see that all work 
of this kind is done in an economical and workmanlike 
manner. 

The Attorney attends to the legal business of the board. 
He prepares all legal documents required to be executed 
by the officers of the board. He also represents the board 
in all litigation in which it may be involved. 

The Auditor, who is the official bookkeeper of the board, 
keeps the financial records of the board arid certifies as to 
the correctness of all bills presented for payment. 

The Superintendent of Supplies has charge of the station- 
ery, books and supplies of various kinds purchased by the 
board and their distribution among the different schools. 

Powers of the Board. — The board of education has 
power, with the concurrence of the city council, to erect 
and purchase buildings, and to buy and lease ground for 
school purposes, and to issue bonds for the purpose of 
building, buying and repairing schoolhouses and purchas- 
ing sites for the same. 

Independent of the city council, the board of education 



242 STATE GOVERNMENT 

has the power to provide the schools with necessary furni- 
ture, fixtures and apparatus, and to hire buildings for the 
use of schools, to employ teachers and fix their compensa- 
tion, to prescribe the text-books to be used and the studies 
to be taught, and to divide the city into districts, to change 
the same and create new ones, as the circumstances may 
require. The board of education possesses all the rights, 
powers and authority required for the proper management 
of the schools. It can expel any pupil from school for 
misconduct, and can dismiss and remove any teacher when- 
ever the interests of the schools may require. 

Duties of the Board. — It is the duty of the board of 
education to supervise all the schools ; to examine all appli- 
cants for positions as teachers, and when qualified to grant 
them certificates; to determine and employ the "number 
and grade of teachers required ; to take charge of and keep 
in good condition the schoolhouses, grounds and other 
school property; to prescribe the discipline, method and 
course of instruction for all schools ; to report to the city 
council from time to time any suggestions that may be 
deemed requisite in relation to the schools and the man- 
agement thereof. These powers can be exercised only at 
a regular meeting of the board of education, and the city 
council is expressly prohibited from exercising any of the 
powers which are granted by law to the board of education. 

Special Features of the Law Applicable to Chicago.— 

In the City of Chicago the system of school management is 
essentially different from that which exists in other parts of 
the State. Some of the more important points of differ- 
ence are : 

i. The members of its board of education are appointed 
by the mayor, while in smaller cities and in rural districts 
they are elected by the people. 



THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 243 

2. The board of education of Chicago examines teach- 
ers and determines their qualification^. In other parts of 
the State this power is exercised by the county superin- 
tendent. 

3. The board of education of the City of Chicago can- 
not levy taxes for school purposes ; this power is exercised 
by the city council. 

4. The power of purchasing land for school purposes, 
erecting buildings and issuing bonds for these purposes 
can be exercised by the board of education only with the 
concurrence of the city council. In other parts of the 
State the school officers can exercise these powers, but 
only with the approval of a majority of the legal voters of 
the district, as expressed by an election held for this pur- 
pose. 

With these exceptions, the board of education of Chi- 
cago is subject to the general school law of the State. 
It expends annually about $8,000,000 for school purposes, 
all of which is raised by taxation, except about $1,000,000, 
which is derived from the rental of school lands,* in- 
vestments of school money and the State common-school 
fund.** 

Teachers. — No teacher can be employed in a common 
school of this State who is not of good moral character 
and at least eighteen years of age if a male and seventeen 
years of age if a female, and who does not possess a certifi- 
cate of qualification. In counties in which a normal school 



*One section of land in each township was originally set apart for the 
support of schools. The greater part of this land was sold many years ago, 
but the remainder of it has become so valuable that the annual rental derived 
from it amounts to about $750,000. 

**The State common-school fund consists of the proceeds of a tax levied 
by the State for educational purposes and the interest on certain funds set 
apart for the support of schools. It is distributed among the different munici- 
palities in proportion to their population of school age. 






244 STATE GOVERNMENT 

is established under the control of the county, graduates of 
that school can be authorized to teach without an exam- 
ination. 

Teachers' certificates may be granted by the State super- 
intendent of public instruction or by the county superin- 
tendents of the different counties, after suitable examina- 
tions have been held by them, but in the City of Chicago 
certificates of qualification are granted by the board of 
education. No teacher can lawfully receive any salary for 
services unless possessed of the required certificate of 
qualification. The duties of teachers are too well known 
to require any further description. 

Women as School Officers — One other provision of the 
school law should be noted, because it constitutes an ex- 
ception to the general policy of the State with reference to 
public matters. Under the laws of this State women are 
allowed to vote at all school elections, and are eligible to 
hold office under the school law of the State. The pro- 
priety of this provision cannot be questioned, because 
women are employed very largely in educational work as 
teachers and superintendents, and by nature and training 
they are fully qualified to deal with educational problems. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 
TAXATION AND EMINENT DOMAIN. 

Among the numerous questions which arise in adminis- 
tering the affairs of any government, whether it be that of 
a nation, State, city, village or school district, none are more 
important or more closely affect the happiness and welfare 
of the people than those which pertain to revenue and taxa- 
tion. The history of nations is largely composed of the 
record of attempts to dispose of these questions. Some- 
times the issue has been settled peaceably by discussion 
and mutual agreement, but frequently it has been deter- 
mined by bloodshed and revolution. The latter was the 
case in our Revolutionary War, which originated in a dif- 
ference of opinion between England and the colonies as to 
which should determine the nature and amount of the 
taxes to be paid by the people of this country. 

At the present time questions of taxation and the ex- 
penditure of public money are involved in nearly every 
election. For these reasons, the subject of taxation is of 
fundamental importance to every citizen who would dis- 
charge the duties of citizenship in an intelligent and patri- 
otic manner. 

Taxes Defined. — Taxes are sums of money which the 
government requires its citizens to pay for its support. 
These payments are not voluntary, but are obligatory, and 
if the citizen neglects them the government collects the debt 
by selling a sufficient amount of his property to pay his tax. 

(245) 



246 STATE GOVERNMENT 

Therefore, taxes may be defined further as that part of the 
property of individuals which the government takes to de- 
fray its expenses incurred for the common good of all. 
Revenue is the income of the government derived from 
taxation. 

Taxation is necessary, because governments cannot fulfill 
the purposes for which they exist without the expenditure 
of large sums of money, which must be contributed by the 
citizens in proportion to their wealth. The revenue of the 
national government is raised principally by indirect taxa- 
tion.* Revenues of the State, county and municipal gov- 
ernments are raised by a system of direct taxation — that 
is, by levying taxes upon the value of the actual property, 
such as land, money, stocks or bonds, which each individual 
possesses. 

Constitutional Provisions. — The constitution of the 
State determines some of the fundamental principles which 
must be observed in taxing citizens of Illinois and all mu- 
nicipalities in the State must be governed by its provisions 
in raising their revenue. 

Taxes must be levied so that every person will be obliged 
to pay in proportion to the value of his property. The 
property of the State, counties and other municipal cor- 
porations, and property used exclusively for agricultural 
or horticultural societies, for school, religious and charita- 
ble purposes, may be exempt from taxation. It authorizes 
the sale of the property of citizens for non-payment of 
taxes and directs, in a general way, how it may be done. 

To protect citizens from excessive taxation, it forbids 
county authorities to assess taxes whose aggregate ex- 
ceeds seventy-five cents per one hundred dollars of valua- 



*See page 57. 



TAXATION AND EMINENT DOMAIN 247 

tion, unless authorized by a vote of the people. For the 
same reason it prohibits any county, city, school district 
or other municipal corporation from becoming indebted 
in any manner or for any purpose, to an amount exceeding 
in the aggregate five per cent of its taxable property, and 
it requires that suitable provision shall be made for the 
payment of every public debt within twenty years from the 
time it is incurred. 

Subject to these general limitations, the power of enact- 
ing necessary revenue legislation is committed to the gen- 
eral assembly. 

The Objects for Which Taxes Are Levied. — Taxes 
are levied for the support of the State government, includ- 
ing the salaries and expenses of State officers, the mainte- 
nance of public buildings and offices in which the business 
of the State is transacted, the expenses of charitable and 
educational institutions, the equipment of the militia, and 
many other objects involving the expenditure of money. 

At each session of the legislature certain laws are passed 
called appropriation bills, which fix the amount which must 
be raised by taxation to defray the expenses of the State 
government. 

In a similar manner the estimated expenses of the county 
are determined by the county board, which must adopt an- 
nually a resolution called the appropriation bill, which fixes 
the amount of the county expenditures.* The county 
government levies taxes to pay the salaries of judges and 
county officers, and to defray the expenses of the county 
institutions, including courts, jails, almshouses, hospitals 
and asylums of various kinds. In the year 1898 the 
expense of conducting the government of Cook County 



*See pages 169 and 171. 



248 STATE GOVERNMENT 

amounted to about $3,000,000. Of this amount about thirty 
per cent was expended for the maintenance of the courts, 
about twenty per cent in paying salaries, about twenty-five 
per cent in defraying the expenses of hospitals, almshouses, 
asylums and various charities, and the remainder for the 
expenses of holding elections, assessing taxes, maintaining 
buildings and numerous other items, which may be classed 
under the head of administrative expenses. 

The objects for which the government of a large city 
levies taxes are numerous. In round numbers, the tax- 
payers of the City of Chicago contribute about $16,000,000 
every year for the support of its city government and 
public school system. Of this total amount, about forty- 
one per cent is" expended for the support of the schools, 
about twenty per cent for the police department, about 
nine per cent each for the public works and fire depart- 
ments, and the remainder for miscellaneous salaries, elec- 
tions, interest on the city debt, lighting the streets, the 
sewer department, the city prison and the public library. 

Each year the heads of the various departments make an 
estimate of the amount required for the ensuing year to 
defray the expenses of their respective departments. These 
estimates are embodied in an ordinance called the annual 
appropriation bill, which the city council must pass within 
the first quarter of each year. This appropriation bill fixes 
the amount which must be raised by taxation to support 
the city government. 

Besides these, other taxes are levied in some municipali- 
ties. For example, in the City of Chicago a tax must be 
paid for the construction of the drainage canal, and another 
tax to maintain and extend the various systems of parks 
and boulevards. All of these taxes are apportioned among 
the citizens and collected by county officers. 



TAXATION AND EMINENT DOMAIN 249 

The Assessment of Taxes. — After the amount to be 
raised by taxation for State, county, municipal, school and 
other public purposes has been determined, then the pro- 
portion of this amount to be paid by each individual must 
be ascertained. This is called the assessment of taxes. 

The just assessment of taxes is a delicate and difficult 
task, and the law carefully prescribes the methods to be pur- 
sued. It is necessary first to obtain an accurate list of all 
the property in the county which is liable to taxation. 
Property is of two kinds — namely, real property, consisting 
of lands and houses, and personal property, which includes 
everything movable, such as money, stocks, bonds, furni- 
ture, horses, cattle, jewelry and merchandise. 

The list of real property is made by the county clerk 
every fourth year prior to the first day of April in that year, 
but must be revised by him annually. Personal property 
must be listed by the person who owns it. Every such 
person is required each year to make a correct statement 
of the personal property owned by him on the first day of 
April. The form of this statement is prescribed by law 
and the person who makes it must swear to the correctness 
of its contents. 

Assessors. — The actual work of assessing the taxes is 
done by officers called assessors, there being one assessor 
in each town of the State. In counties not under township 
organization the county treasurer is the county assessor. 
In counties under township organization having less than 
125,000 inhabitants the county treasurer is the super- 
visor of assessments and has general charge of the work of 
the various assessors of the towns in his county. In all 
counties containing 125,000 inhabitants or more a board of 
assessors, consisting of five persons, is elected by the people. 

Notwithstanding the different ways in which these offices 



250 STATE GOVERNMENT 

are filled, the work of assessors of taxes is substantially the 
same in all parts of the State. It is their duty to obtain 
from the county clerk on or before the first day of April in 
each year the assessment books, which contain the list of 
real estate liable to taxation in the different towns or dis- 
tricts of the county, and to determine, as nearly as possible, 
the value of each parcel of land. The assessors also must 
make a list of the persons owning personal property and its 
value. Both real and personal property are appraised by 
the assessors at their fair cash value, which is termed the 
"full value'' of the property. One fifth of this value is 
called the "assessed value," and is taken as the basis on 
which the amount of tax to be paid by the owner is com- 
puted. 

Board of Review. — The work of the assessors is subject 
to revision by another set of officers, called the Board of 
Review. In counties under township organization having 
less than 125,000 inhabitants this board is composed of the 
clerk of the county court, the chairman of the county board 
and a citizen selected by the county judge. In counties not 
under township organization the Board of County Commis- 
sioners constitutes the board of review. In counties 
under township organization, containing 125,000 or more 
inhabitants, a board of review, consisting of three persons, 
is elected by the people. 

The board of review is required to meet on or before 
the second Monday in July in each year for the purpose of 
revising the assessment of property. It has power to revise 
the whole or any part of the assessment of any taxpayer 
and correct the same as shall appear to them to be just. It 
is the duty of the board of review to revise, adjust, correct 
and alter the work of the assessors so as to produce an 



TAXATION AND EMINENT DOMAIN 251 

equitable distribution of the burdens of taxation among all 
the taxpayers.* 

Computing the Rate. — The assessment books are made in 
duplicate, and when the work of assessing the property in 
the county has been completed the board of review delivers 
one set of these books to the county clerk and the other set 
to the county assessor, supervisor of assessments, or board 
of assessors. The county clerk computes the rate per cent 
upon the proper valuation of the property in the county 
which will produce the amount required to be raised by 
taxation.** 

After the work of assessing property and computing the 
rate of taxes has been completed, the county clerk delivers 
to collectors in his county books for the collection of taxes, 
which contain correct lists of the taxable property as 
assessed. This must be done on or before the tenth day of 
January following the year in which the taxes are levied. 
In counties under township organization a collector in each 
town is chosen by the people, and the county treasurer is 
the county collector. Each county not under township 
organization is made by law a collection district, and the 
sheriff is both district and county collector. 

Collection of Taxes. — Each town collector, upon receiving 
the tax books, proceeds to collect the taxes listed therein, 



♦Another body, having some duties to perform in connection with the 
assessment of taxes, is the State Board of Equalization, which is composed 
of one member elected by the people in each of the congressional districts of 
the State. This board assesses the capital stock of corporations and certain 
property of railroad companies, described as "railroad track" and "rolling 
stock." It also equalizes the assessment in the different counties so as to 
accomplish a just distribution of assessments throughout the State— that is, 
make the assessed value of the property in each county bear a just relation 
to the assessed value of the property in all other counties. 

♦♦See Moore's Arithmetic, page 212, for an explanation of the method of 
computing taxes. 






£52 STATE GOVERNMENT 

and for that purpose he must call at least once on each 
person taxed and demand payment of his personal property 
tax. In case of non-payment, it is then the duty of the col- 
lector to levy upon and sell the personal property of such 
delinquent and thus collect the debt due to the public. The 
collectors are required to make statements every thirty days 
of the amounts collected by them and to pay over the same 
to the proper officers. 

They must return the tax books to the county collector 
and make final settlements for the amount of taxes placed 
in their hands for collection on or before the tenth day of 
March in each year. At this time they are required to 
furnish to the county collector a detailed statement of the 
amount pf taxes they have been unable to collect on real 
estate and on personal property. 

After these returns have been made by the collectors it is 
the duty of the county collector to proceed to collect unpaid 
taxes and to turn the same over to the proper municipal 
officers in the same manner as is required of the town and 
district collectors. The power of town and district collect- 
ors to enforce the payment of taxes extends only to a sale 
of the personal property of the person charged. For this 
reason the greater portion of the personal property tax is 
generally collected by the town or district collectors, leav- 
ing only a comparatively small part to be collected by the 
county collector. The county collector is required to en- 
force the collection of delinquent taxes on real property by 
a sale of the property taxed. Therefore, as the majority of 
taxpayers like to postpone the payment of their taxes as 
long as possible, it follows that the greater portion of the 
taxes on real estate are collected by the county collector. 

Delinquent Taxes. — All real estate upon which taxes re- 
main due and unpaid on the tenth day of March, annually, 



TAXATION AND EMINENT DOMAIN 253 

or at the time the town or district collector makes return of 
his books to the county collector, is deemed delinquent, and 
such taxes bear interest after the first day of May at the 
rate of one per cent per month until paid or collected by 
sale of the property. The proceedings for the sale of real 
estate for the non-payment of taxes usually commence in 
the months of April and May, and in the case of populous 
counties, like Cook County, where real estate is subdi- 
vided into small lots or parcels, the sale is not completed 
until the month of December following. 

After real estate has been sold for non-payment of taxes 
the county clerk executes and delivers to the purchaser a 
certificate of purchase, which describes the property sold 
and states the date of the sale, the amount of unpaid taxes 
on the property and other details. The owner of the prop- 
erty sold is allowed two years in which to redeem from the 
sale, by paying to the county clerk the amount of the taxes 
for which the land was sold, together with interest, expenses 
of the sale and the penalties imposed by law in such cases. 
If the owner does not redeem within the two years, then the 
holder of the certificate of purchase is entitled to receive 
from the county clerk a tax deed, which conveys to him an 
absolute title to the property sold. 

Eminent Domain. — There is another method by which 
the government sometimes takes possession of the property 
of individuals and uses the same for public purposes. This 
is done by the exercise of the right of eminent domain, by 
which is meant the right of the government to take posses- 
sion of and use property for the benefit of the public, which 
is greater than the right of the individual citizen to hold the 
property for his own private use. This power of the 
government is exercised so frequently that a general knowl- 
edge of the subject should be possessed by every citizen, 



254 STATE GOVERNMENT 






and, therefore, a very common instance will be taken as an 
illustration. 

Tahing Property. — It is the duty of the government of a 
city or village to lay out and open such streets and alleys 
as may be required for the convenience of the public. The 
contemplated street must necessarily cross the land of one 
or more citizens, and sometimes the property owner is com- 
pelled to move his buildings from the ground to be so occu- 
pied. This is a damage to the owner of the property, be- 
cause his land is taken from him and used as a street and 
perhaps he has been obliged to tear down or remove ex- 
pensive structures. Therefore, the law compels the gov- 
ernment in such a case to pay to the property owner the 
amount of the damage incurred. 

Compensation. — The rights of citizens in all cases of this 
kind are secured by the constitution, which provides that 
"private property shall not be taken or damaged for public 
use without just compensation. " Further, the laws of the 
State indicate the method to be followed in ascertaining the 
amount of damage to be paid to citizens in such cases. The 
city is obliged to file a petition in the county or circuit 
court, setting forth a description of the property which it 
is proposed to take, the purpose for which it is to be taken, 
the name or names of the owners, and asking that the com- 
pensation to be paid to the owner may be determined by 
the court. This question is submitted to a jury of twelve 
persons selected in the same manner as in other trials, and 
the amount awarded by the jury must be paid by the gov- 
ernment to the owner of the property before it can use the 
land for the purpose proposed. 

Taxation and Eminent Domain Contrasted. — Thus the exer- 
cise of the right of eminent domain is similar to the exercise 
of the power of taxation, in that private property is taken 



TAXATION AND EMINENT DOMAIN 255 

for public purposes in both cases, and in both cases com- 
pensation is given to the owner. But there are marked 
differences to be observed with reference to these subjects. 
The right of eminent domain is exercised not only by the 
different kinds of government under which we live, but also 
by certain public corporations, such as railroads, and tele- 
graph and bridge companies, while the power of taxation 
is exercised by the government alone. Again, the right of 
eminent domain is exercised only at certain times and in 
certain cases, while taxation is enforced at all times and 
affects all property owners. 

There is also a difference in the kind of compensation 
that the citizen receives. When his property is taken under 
the right of eminent domain he is paid for it in money, but 
when it is taken by taxation the citizen gets his pay by 
receiving police and fire protection, the advantages of pub- 
lic schools and all other benefits that he derives from the 
government under which he lives. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
THE RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS. 

The consideration given in the preceding chapters to the 
political institutions of our country and State will fail in its 
purpose if it does not impress us with the magnitude anc 
number of the rights, privileges and immunities enjoyed by 
American citizens, as well as the serious character of th< 
obligations imposed upon them. 

In concluding our study, we shall summarize briefly th 
more important of these rights and duties. An exhaustiv 
statement of these topics involves a detailed study of ou 
statute books, because every provision of the national and 
State constitutions, as well as every law that has been en- 
acted, is designed to protect citizens in the enjoyment of 
some right, and the possession of a right always implies 
the existence of a duty on the part of its possessor. 

The rights of a citizen of the United States may be divided 
into two classes — namely, those civil rights which are en- 
joyed by all citizens alike, regardless of age or sex, and 
those political rights which are possessed by citizens hav- 
ing certain qualifications. 

It was the special aim and object of the founders of our 
government to protect the civil rights of citizens. To this 
end we find it enunciated in the Declaration of Independ- 
ence that among the inalienable rights of men are those of 
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that govern- 
ments are instituted to secure these rights. The study of 

(256) 



RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS 257 

our national Constitution also shows that its framers zeal- 
ously guarded and protected these rights. This is ap- 
parent when we recall that, after the instrument had 
been completed and signed by the members of the constitu- 
tional convention, there was still a lingering fear that the 
document had not been sufficiently explicit in these par- 
ticulars, and that to remove all possible doubt the first ten 
amendments were adopted at the earliest opportunity. To 
still further protect citizens in the enjoyment of their civil 
and political rights the last three amendments were enacted. 

In a similar manner, the constitution of Illinois shows 
with what solicitude and care these rights have been 
guarded by that instrument, and nowhere can there be 
found a more complete list of the civil and political rights 
of mankind than is contained in the Bill of Rights which 
forms a part of our State constitution. 

Rights of Citizens. — Personal Security. — Every citizen 
has the right of personal security — that is, to be protected 
from personal injury, either to his body, health or reputa- 
tion. To this end, a large portion of our laws have 
been framed, and in their enforcement many public officers 
are employed. For the protection of citizens from actual 
bodily harm and violence, sheriffs and policemen perform 
their duties, and, in case their assistance cannot be had, the 
citizen is given the right to defend himself. The public 
health is guarded by numerous laws and ordinances on 
sanitary subjects, and great care is taken to prevent the 
spread of contagious diseases. Lastly, the laws for the 
punishment of slander and libel protect the reputations of 
citizens. 

Property. — This is one of those absolute civil rights of 
which the citizen cannot be deprived. It means that every 
one has the right to acquire, own and use property, and 



258 STATE GOVERNMENT 

that, if necessary, the entire power of the government will 
be exerted to prevent an individual from being deprived 
unlawfully of his property. No man's property can be 
taken from him by another except by due process of law, 
and if a citizen faithfully fulfills his obligations, legal proc- 
esses will not be invoked against him. 

Personal Liberty. — The existence of this right is recog- 
nized by numerous paragraphs of the Bill of Rights. By 
virtue of it a citizen is free to travel and live where he 
pleases and to engage in such lawful occupation as he deems 
best. In ancient times a ruler could deprive a citizen of his 
personal liberty at will, and therefore our English ancestors 
devised a remedy for this evil, known as the writ of habeas 
corpus. It has been in use in England from a period of re- 
mote antiquity, for personal liberty has always been asserted 
by the English law from its earliest ages. The principle 
was declared in the most solemn manner in Magna Charta, 
but the benefits of the writ were frequently avoided by time- 
serving judges until the year 1679, when the habcas-corpus 
act was passed by the English Parliament. 

The habcas-corpus act has been substantially incorpo- 
rated into the laws of every State in the Union, and the 
right to the writ has been secured by the constitutions of 
the United States and of the State of Illinois, both of which 
provide that the privilege shall not be suspended, except 
when the public safety requires it. 

The writ of habeas corpus is a document issued by order 
of court upon the application of any person who is unlaw- 
fully deprived of his liberty. It commands the person hav- 
ing in his custody the applicant for the writ to bring him 
before the court to be dealt with according to the law. If 
the judge finds that the applicant for the writ has been un- 
lawfully deprived of his liberty he discharges him from 



RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS 259 

custody at once. If, on the other hand, it is found that the 
confinement is lawful, the prisoner is remanded to the cus- 
tody of the person producing him, to await the further ac- 
tion of the law. 

It is impossible to evade the provisions of the habeas- 
corpus act, and personal liberty will be safe in Illinois as 
long as this law remains in force. 

Freedom of Conscience. — The right to perfect freedom in 
all matters of religious worship and profession is one of the 
fundamental principles of our government. To secure this 
freedom, our ancestors left their homes in Europe and set- 
tled in a wilderness. The constitution of Illinois declares 
that this right shall forever be guaranteed and protected, 
and that no person shall ever be denied any civil or political 
right by reason of his religious belief. 

So firmly has this principle become established in our 
institutions and so fully do we recognize its existence that 
we scarcely realize how many years of struggle, what sacri- 
fice of life and expenditure of money its establishment has 
cost. The history of almost every nation shows that the 
denial of this right has been the source of a large part of 
the cruelty and warfare from which mankind has suffered. 

Freedom of Speech and of the Press. — Every person is at 
liberty to freely speak and write and publish his views upon 
all subjects, but is responsible to any one injured by the 
abuse of that liberty. Absolute freedom of speech and 
discussion, especially with reference to public matters, is 
essential to the welfare and perpetuity of the principles of 
popular government, because by the free interchange of 
opinion among people sound views are developed and will 
generally prevail. In the exercise of this right care must 
be taken that the reputation or business of a citizen is not 
injured by the circulation of false statements. The mali- 



260 STATE GOVERNMENT 

cious utterance of such statements is called slander, and 
the publication of them is libel, both of which are punished 
by severe penalties. 

Protection from Unjust Laws. — Tyrannical governments 
in all ages have resorted to the expedient of enacting op- 
pressive laws, so that their unjust acts might be defended 
by the plea that the laws must be enforced. At other times 
the operation of just and reasonable laws has been sus- 
pended at the will of the sovereign, regardless of the rights 
of the people. Acts such as these were charged against 
the King of Great Britain by the Declaration of Inde 
pendence. To insure the people against abuses of thii 
kind the constitution provides : That no ex post facto law 
or law impairing the obligation of contracts, shall be en- 
acted ;* that all penalties shall be proportioned to the 
nature of the offense, and no conviction shall work cor- 
ruption of blood or forfeiture of estate.** 

The first of these provisions protects the people from 
any legislative act having a retroactive effect. An ex post 
facto law is one which establishes or increases the penalty 
of an act already committed. For example, forgery is a 
crime punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary, but if 
the legislature should enact a law condemning to death all 
persons who have been convicted of forgery during the last 
two years, such a law would be ex post facto and therefore 
unconstitutional and void. 

Any law which destroys or impairs the validity of a con- 
tract is also contrary to the constitution and void, because 
when citizens, relying upon existing laws, enter into an 
agreement, they acquire rights in the subject matter of 
the agreement. In such a case it would be manifestly 



♦See Sec. 14, Article II, of Constitution of 1870. 
♦♦See Constitution of 1870, Art. II, Sec. 11. 



RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS 261 

unjust for the legislature to damage or destroy those rights 
by passing a law which would impair in any way the obli- 
gations created by the contract. 

The second of these constitutional provisions protects 
citizens from suffering excessive penalties for compara- 
tively small crimes or misdemeanors. In some despotic 
governments the penalty of death is imposed for quite a 
variety of offenses, but under our more humane laws it is 
inflicted only in the case of a conviction for murder. 

The same provision of our State constitution forbids a 
kind of punishment which in former times was inflicted fre- 
quently, particularly in cases of treason, whereby the per- 
son convicted not only suffered the severest penalty, but 
also forfeited all his property to the government, and his 
blood was declared corrupted, so that he became incapable 
of receiving or transmitting any inheritance. Such a pun- 
ishment was inflicted by legislative or judicial act, called a 
Bill of Attainder, or simply an Attainder. It had the effect 
of punishing children and innocent persons for the crimes 
of their ancestors. Attainders have been abolished in Eng- 
land and are forbidden by the Constitution of the United 
States and the State of Illinois. 

The examples which have been given illustrate what is 
meant by the civil rights of a citizen. His political rights 
are just as highly prized and important, but not nearly so 
numerous. 

Suffrage. — This is the most important political right pos- 
sessed by citizens. The origin of the word suffrage is 
somewhat in doubt, but its meaning is familiar to every 
person. The right of suffrage is the right to vote — that 
is, to give expression to a choice as to what person shall fill 
a particular office or as to whether or not a given govern- 
mental proposition shall become operative. The right of 



— 



262 STATE GOVERNMENT 

suffrage is important, because by means of it each person 
who is entitled to its exercise has a voice in the determina- 
tion of public questions. 

The Right to Hold Office. — It is the right of every Amer- 
ican citizen to hold office, provided he has the requisite 
qualifications established by law. It is also his privilege to 
aspire to any office which he is qualified to fill. In the pre- 
ceding pages many offices have been mentioned, and there 
are many others which have been omitted. The occupants 
of each of these, from the highest to the lowest, have been 
chosen from the mass of the people. 

The ambition to hold public office is an honorable one, 
but in its attainment none but honorable methods should 
be used. It is a great honor to be chosen to fill an office 
of public trust, and every recipient of such favor should 
strive to merit it by avoiding selfishness and corruption in 
the performance of his duties. 

The Duties of Citizens. — The duties which all citizens 
owe to their government should receive their consideration 
quite as much as the rights which they enjoy, but, unfortu- 
nately, this is not always the case. All citizens of this coun- 
try are fairly zealous in claiming their rights, but when it 
comes to the performance of their duties they often display 
an ignorance or negligence which does not speak well for 
their intelligence or patriotism. These duties are almost as 
numerous as the rights which have been described, and are 
also of a civil and political character. 

Obedience to the Law. — This topic covers a multitude of 
matters which might be considered with profit, but we can 
discuss it only in a general way. It includes all of the duties 
of citizens. Every person who expects to be protected by 
the law in the enjoyment of his rights must conform to the 
conditions which the laws have imposed. If he fails in this 



RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS 263 

respect he is likely to lose some of his rights and to suffer 
a penalty proportionate to his failure. Laws should be 
obeyed by citizens from a sense of duty, and not from fear 
of punishment. 

Any person who obeys the law because he fears the pen- 
alty of disobedience is likely to disobey it if he thinks he can 
escape discovery and punishment. A citizen who is willing 
to obey the law only in cases where he fears discovery and 
who is ready to disobey it secretly when he thinks his per- 
sonal interests will be promoted thereby, is quite as dan- 
gerous to the welfare of the community as the professional 
lawbreaker and marauder. Yet many a so called respecta- 
ble citizen does this very thing when he is a party to cor- 
ruption in official conduct or bribery at elections. 

The Payment of Taxes. — Although it is perfectly clear 
to every citizen that the expenses of government must be 
paid by taxation and that all should contribute for this pur- 
pose in proportion to their wealth, yet some men will seek 
to avoid this duty. In doing so, they resort to many dis- 
honorable practices. They make untrue statements to the 
assessors as to the amount of their property, especially if 
their wealth is in such a form that it can be concealed. To 
ease their consciences in making these statements they tem- 
porarily transfer their property just before the first day of 
April and recover it shortly after that date. They tell the 
assessors that their property is worth much less than its real 
value. This is especially the case with reference to personal 
property, the value of which can be misrepresented with 
much more safety than in the case of real estate. 

People who seek to escape the burden of taxation by 
methods such as these are generally known as "tax-dodg- 
ers. " They defraud the government of its just dues and 
are not good citizens. Any person who is willing to 



264 STATE GOVERNMENT 

receive the benefits of the government and seeks to avoid 
paying for what he gets is actuated by principles no better 
than those of the professional solicitor of alms or the man 
who habitually repudiates his honest debts. 

Self -Support. — Every citizen should avoid being a burden 
upon the community, and therefore it is his duty to provide 
for the support of himself and those dependent upon him. 
To perform this duty, every one should have some occupa- 
tion by which he can earn his living and follow it indus- 
triously. No self-respecting man is willing to receive his 
support at the expense of others, and, except in cases of 
misfortune, an able-bodied person who is a burden upon 
the community has failed in performing the duties of 
citizenship. 

Taking Part in Public Affairs. — Voting is not only the 
right and privilege of the citizen, but it is also his duty. 
The citizen who is qualified to vote and fails to do so is just 
as responsible for the evils of misgovernment as the man 
who votes for a dishonest candidate or a pernicious govern- 
mental measure. 

This duty should be performed intelligently ; therefore 
every citizen should take part in the discussion of public 
questions and be -well informed upon those subjects which 
pertain to the administration of public affairs. In this 
country, the people govern themselves. They are the 
source of all power. Therefore, if the government is bad, 
the responsibility must rest with the people who have 
voted for improper measures or unworthy candidates, or 
both. 

The qualified voter who neglects to perform the duty of 
voting should not complain if dishonest officials plunder 
the public treasury, for he did nothing to prevent it. The 
busy citizen who cannot find time to attend primary elec- 



RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF CITIZENS 265 

tions, or political conventions, should not complain of 
unworthy candidates, because he has been willing to let 
others do the work of nominating them, instead of partici- 
pating in the matter himself. 

There are many other duties which we might mention, 
as that of holding public office when the welfare of the 
community will be promoted thereby, the duty of pub- 
lic service, both in peace and war, and the duty of cultivat- 
ing that public spirit which places the good of the State or 
nation above personal profit and ambition ; but all of these 
have been suggested by what has been said, and the intelli- 
gent and patriotic citizen will have no difficulty in discover- 
ing where his duty lies. Duty and conscience should be 
the guides in civil and political life, and those who follow 
and obey are good citizens. 

THE END. 



APPENDIX "A." 

CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

September 17, 1787. 

Preamble. — We, the people of the United States, in order to 
form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tran- 
quillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general wel- 
fare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our 
posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United 
States of America. 

ARTICLE I. 

1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a con- 
gress of the United States, which shall consist of a senate and house 
of representatives. 

2. First The house of representatives shall be composed of 
members chosen every second year, by the people of the several 
states; and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications 
requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state 
legislature. 

Second. No person shall be a representative who shall not have 
attained to the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a 
citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an 
inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen. 

Third. Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned 
among the several states which may be included within this union, 
according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined 

(267) 



268 APPENDIX "A" 

by adding to the whole number of free persons, including those 
bound to service for a term of years, and excluding Indians not 
taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. The actual enumeration 
shall be made within three years after the first meeting of the con- 
gress of the United States, and within every subsequent term of 
ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The number 
of representatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000, but each 
state shall have at least one representative; and until such enumera- 
tion shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to 
choose three; Massachusetts, eight; Rhode Island and Providence 
Plantations, one; Connecticut, five; New York, six; New Jersey, four; 
Pennsylvania, eight; Delaware, one; Maryland, six; Virginia, ten; 
North Carolina, five; South Carolina, five, and Georgia, three. — See 
14th Amendment. 

Fourth. When vacancies happen in the representation from any 
state, the executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to 
fill such vacancies. 

Fifth. The house of representatives shall choose their speaker 
and other officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

3. First. The senate of the United States shall be composed of 
two senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for 
six years; and each senator shall have one \ 

Second. Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence 
of the first election, they shall be divided, as equally as may be, 
into three classes. The seats of the senators of the first class shall 
be vacated at the expiration of the second year; of the second class, 
at the expiration of the fourth year; and of the third class, at the 
expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every 
second year; and if vacancies happen by resignation or otherw 
during the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive 
thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meeting 
of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

Third. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained 
to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the 
United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant 
of that state for which he shall be chosen. 

Fourth. The vice-president of the United States shall be presi- 
dent of the senate; but shall have no vote, unless they be equally 
divided. 



FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 2G9 

Fifth. The senate shall choose their other officers, and also a 
president pro tempore in the absence of the vice-president, or when 
he shall exercise the office of president of the United States. 

Sixth. The senate shall have the sole power to try all impeach- 
ments. When sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or 
affirmation. When the president of the United States is tried, the 
chief justice shall preside; and no person shall be convicted without 
the concurrence of two thirds of the members present. 

Seventh. Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend 
further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold 
and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United 
States; but the party convicted shall, nevertheless, be liable and 
subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according 
to law. 

4. First. The times, places and manner of holding elections 
for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by 
the legislature thereof; but the congress may, at any time, by law, 
make or alter sue* 1 regulations, except as to the places of choosing 
senators. 

Second. The congress shall assemble at least once in every year, 
and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless 
they shall, by law, appoint a different day. 

5. First. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns 
and qualifications of its own members; and a majority of each shall 
constitute a quorum to do business; but a smaller number may 
adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the 
attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such 
penalties as each house may provide. 

Second. Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, 
punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the con- 
currence of two-thirds, expel a member. 

Third. Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and 
from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, 
in their judgment, require secrecy; and the yeas and nays of the 
members of either house, on any question, shall, at the desire of 
one-fifth of those present, be entered on the journal. 

Fourth. Neither house, during the session of congress, shall, 
without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, 



270 APPENDIX "A" 

nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall be 
sitting. 

6. First. The senators and representatives shall receive a com- 
pensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out 
of the treasury of the United States. They shall, in all cases, except 
treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest 
during their attendance at the session of their respective houses, 
and in going to or returning from the same; and for any speech or 
debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other 
place. 

Second. No senator or representative shall, during the time for 
which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the 
authority of the United States which shall have been created, or 
the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such 
time; and no person holding any office under the United States 
shall be a member of either house during his continuance in office. 

7. First. All bills for raising a revenue shall originate in the 
house of representatives; but the senate may propose or concur with 
amendments, as on other bills. 

Second. Every bill, which shall have passed the house of repre- 
sentatives and the senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be pre- 
sented to the president of the United States; if he approves, he shall 
sign it; but if not, he shall return it, with his objections, to that 
house in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objec- 
tions at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If, 
after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree to 
pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the 
other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if 
approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But 
in all such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by 
yeas and nays; and the names of the persons voting for and against 
the bill, shall be entered on the journal of each house respec- 
tively. If any bill shall not be returned by the president within ten 
days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, 
the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless 
the congress, by their adjournment, prevent its return; in which 
case, it shall not be a law. 

Third. Every order, resolution or vote, to which the concurrence 
of the senate and house of representatives may be necessary (ex- 



* 



FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 2?1 

cept on a question of adjournment), shall be presented to the 
president of the United States; and before the same shall take 
effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, 
shall be repassed by two-thirds of the senate and house of repre- 
sentatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the 
case of a bill. 

8. The congress shall have power — 

First. To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to 
pay the debts, and provide for the common defense and general 
welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises 
shall be uniform throughout the United States: 

Second. To borrow money on the credit of the United States: 

Third. To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among 
the several states, and with the Indian tribes: 

Fourth. To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uni- 
form laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United 
States: 

Fifth. To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign 
coin, and to fix the standard of weights and measures: 

Sixth. To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the 
securities and current coin of the United States: 

Seventh. To establish post offices and post roads: 

Eighth. To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by 
securing, for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive 
right to their respective writings and discoveries: 

Ninth. To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court: To 
define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, 
and offenses against the law of nations: 

Tenth. To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and 
make rules concerning captures on land and water: 

Eleventh. To raise and support armies; but no appropriation of 
money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years: 

Twelfth. To provide and maintain a navy: 

Thirteenth. To make rules for the government and regulation of 
the land and naval forces: 

Fourteenth. To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the 
laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions: 

Fifteenth. To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the 
militia, and for governing such part of them as may be employed 



272 APPENDIX "A" 

in the service of the United States, reserving to the states respec- 
tively the appointment of the officers, and the authority of training 
the militia according to the discipline prescribed by congress: 

Sixteenth. To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatso- 
ever over such district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by 
cession of particular states, and the acceptance of congress, become 
the seat of government of the United States, and to exercise like 
authority over all places purchased, by the consent of the legislature 
of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, 
magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other needful buildings: and 

Seventeenth. To make all laws which shall be necessary and 
proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all 
other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the 
United States, or in any department or officer thereof. 

g. First. The migration or importation of such persons as any of 
the states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be 
prohibited by the congress prior to the year one thousand eight 
hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such 
importation, not exceeding ten dollars for each person. 

Second. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless when, in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 
safety may require it. 

Third. No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

Fourth. No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unle 
proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to 
be taken. 

Fifth. No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any 
state. No preference shall be given, by any regulation of commerce 
or revenue, to the ports of one state over those of another; nor 
shall vessels bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, clear 
or pay duties in another. 

Sixth. No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in conse- 
quence of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and 
account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall 
be published from time to time. 

Seventh. No title of nobility shall be granted by the United 
States, and no person holding any office of profit or trust under 
them shall, without the consent of the congress, accept of any 



FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 273 

present, emolument, office or title of any kind whatever, from any 
king, prince, or foreign state. 

10. First. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance or confed- 
eration; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; emit bills 
of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in pay- 
ment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law 
impairing the obligation of contracts; or grant any title of nobility. 

Second. No state shall, without the consent of the congress, lay 
any imposts or duties on imports or exports, except what may be 
absolutely necessary for executing its inspection laws; and the net 
produce of all duties and imposts, laid by any state on imports or 
exports, shall be for the use of the treasury of the United States, 
and all such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
congress. No state shall, without the consent of congress, lay any 
duty of tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter 
into any agreement or compact with another state or with a foreign 
power, or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such immi- 
nent danger as will not admit of delay. 

ARTICLE II. 

i. First. The executive power shall be vested in a president of 
the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the 
term of four years, and together with the vice-president, chosen for 
the same term, be elected as follows: 

Second. Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legisla- 
ture thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole 
number of senators and representatives to which the state may be 
entitled in the congress; but no senator or representative, or person 
holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall 
be appointed an elector. 

Third. The electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote 
by ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhab- 
itant of the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of 
all the persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each; which 
list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of gov- 
ernment of the United States, directed to the president of the senate. 
The president of the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and 



274 APPENDIX "A" 

house of representatives , open all the certificates, and the votes shall 
then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes shall 
be the president, if such number be a majority of the whole yiumber of 
electors appointed; and if there be more than one zuho have such ma- 
jority, and have an equal number of votes, then the house of repre- 
sentatives shall immediately choose, by ballot, one of them for presi- 
dent; and if no person have a majority, then from the five highest on 
the list the said house shall, in like manner, choose the president. But 
in choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by states, the repre- 
sentation from each state having one vote: a quorum for this pur- 
Pose shall consist of a member or members from tzco-thirds of the 
stales, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice. 
In every case after the choice of the president, the person having the 
greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the vice-president. 
But if there should remain ttvo or more zt'ho have equal votes, the 
senate shall choose from them, by ballot, the vice-president. [The fore- 
going provisions were changed by the 12th Amendment. 

Fourth. The congress may determine the time of choosing the 
electors, and the day on which they shall give their votes; which 
day shall be the same throughout the United Stah 

Fifth. No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of 
the United States at the time of the adoption of this constitution, 
shall be eligible to the office of president; neither shall any person 
be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the 
United States. 

Sixth. In case of the removal of the president from office, or of 
his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and 
duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the vice- 
president, and the congress may, by law, provide for the case of 
removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the president and 
vice-president, declaring what officer shall then act as president, 
and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be re- 
moved, or a president shall be elected. 

Seventh. The president shall, at stated times, receive for his serv- 
ices a compensation, which shall neither be increased or diminished 
during the period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall 
not receive within that period any other emolument from the United 
States or any of them. 



FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 2?5 

Eighth. Before he enters on the execution of his office he shall 
take the following oath or affirmation: 

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of 
president of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, 
protect and defend the constitution of the United States. 

2. First. The president shall be commander-in-chief of the army 
and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several 
states, when called into the actual service of the United States. He 
may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each 
of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties 
of their respective offices; and he shall have power to grant reprieves 
and pardons, for offenses against the United States, except in cases 
of impeachment. 

Second. He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent 
of the senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators 
present concur; and he shall nominate, and, by and with the advice 
and consent of the senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all other 
officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein 
otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law. But 
the congress may, by law, vest the appointment of such inferior 
officers, as they shall think proper, in the president alone, in the 
courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

Third. The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that 
may happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commis- 
sions, which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

3. He shall, from time to time, give to the congress information 
of the state of the Union; and recommend to their consideration 
such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient. He may, 
on extraordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, 
and in case of disagreement between them, with respect to the time 
of adjournment, he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think 
proper. He shall receive ambassadors and other public minister^. 
He shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed; and shall 
commission all officers of the United States. 

4. The president, vice-president, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office, on impeachment for 



276 APPENDIX "A" 

and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misde- 
meanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

i. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one 
supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the congress may, 
from time to time, ordain and establish. The judges, both of 
the supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good 
behavior; and shall, at stated times, receive for their services a 
compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continu- 
ance in office. 

2. First. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 
equity, arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, 
and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; 
to all cases, affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and con- 
suls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to contro- 
versies to which the United States shall be a party; to controver 
between two or more states; between a state and citizens of another 
state; between citizens of different states between citizens of the 
same state, claiming lands under grants <»f different ^tate^; and be- 
tween a state or the citizens thereof, and forei ^ or 
subjects. 

Second. In all cases, affecting ambassadors, other public minis- 
ters, and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the 
supreme court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other 
cases before mentioned, the supreme court shall have appellate 
jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions and under 
such regulations as the congress shall make. 

Third. The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, 
•shall be by jury; and such trials shall be held in the state where the 
said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed 
within any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the 
congress may by law have directed. 

3. First. Treason against the United States shall consist only in 
levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving 
them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason 
unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same overt act, o r 
on confession in open court. 



FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 277 

Second. The congress shall have power to declare the punishment 
of treason; but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of 
blood, or forfeiture except during the life of the person attainted. 

ARTICLE IV. 

i. Full faith and credit shall be given, in each state, to the public 
acts, records and judicial proceedings of every other state. And 
the congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which 
such acts, records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect 
thereof. 

2. First. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privi- 
leges and immunities of citizens in the several states. 

Second. A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or 
other crime, who shall flee from justice, and be found in another 
state, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state from 
which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having 
jurisdiction of the crime. 

Third. No person held to service or labor in one state under the 
laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any 
law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor; 
but shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such serv- 
ice or labor may be due. 

3. First. New states may be admitted by the congress of this 
Union; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the ju- 
risdiction of any other state, nor any state be formed by the junc- 
tion of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent 
of the legislatures of the states concerned, as well as of the con- 
gress. 

Second. The congress shall have power to dispose of and make 
all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other 
property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this con- 
stitution shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the 
United States or of any particular state. 

4. The United States shall guarantee to every state in this Union 
a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion; and on application of the legislature, or of the 



278 APPENDIX "A" 

executive (when the legislature cannot be convened), against do- 
mestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. 

The congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this constitution; or, on 
the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, 
shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in cither 
case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this con- 
stitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the 
several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as ihe 
one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the con- 
gress: Provided, that no amendment which may be made prior to 
the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, shall in any man- 
ner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth scti v.i of Hie 
first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived 
of its equal suffrage in the senate. 

ARTICLE VI. 

i. First, All debts contracted, and engagements entered into, be- 
fore the adoption of this constitution, shall be as valid against the 
United States, under this constitution, as under the confederation. 

Second. This constitution and the laws of the United States which 
shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which 
shall be made under authority of the United States, shall be the 
supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be 
bound thereby; anything in the constitution or laws of any state 
to the contrary notwithstanding. 

Third. The senators and representatives before mentioned, and 
the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and 
judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several 
states, shall be bound, by oath or affirmation, to support this con- 
stitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualifica- 
tion to any office or public trust under the United States. 

ARTICLE VII. 
The ratification of the conventions of nine states shall be suffi- 



FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 279 

cient for the establishment of this constitution between the states 
so ratifying the same. 

Done in convention, by the unanimous consent of the states 
present, the seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the inde- 
pendence of the United States of America the twelfth. 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

I. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of re- 
ligion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the 
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peace- 
ably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of 
grievances. 

II. A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a 
free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not 
be infringed. 

III. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 
without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, but in a man- 
ner to be prescribed by law. 

IV. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall 
not be violated; and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable 
cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing 
the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

V. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or other- 
wise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a 
grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in 
the militia, when in actual service, in time of war or public danger; 
nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice 
put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled, in any crim- 
inal case, to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, 
liberty or property, without due process of law; nor shall private 
property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

VI. In # all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the 
right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state 
and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which 
district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be 
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be con- 






280 APPENDIX "A" 



fronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process 
for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of 
counsel for his defense. 

VII. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy 
shall exceed $20, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved; and 
no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court 
of the United States, than according to the rules of the common 
law. 

VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

IX. The enumeration, in the constitution, of certain rights, shall 
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the 
people. 

X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the consti- 
tution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states 
respectively, or to the people. 

XI. The judicial power of the United States shall not be con- 
strued to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prose- 
cuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, 
o r by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

XII. 1. The electors shall meet in their respective states and 
vote by ballot for president and vice-president, one of whom at 
least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; 
they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as president, 
and in distinct ballots the person voted for as vice-president; and 
they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as president, 
and of all persons voted for as vice-president, and of the number 
of votes for each, which list they shall si^n and certify, and trans- 
mit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, di- 
rected to the president of the senate; the president of the senate 
shall, in the presence of the senate and house of representatr 
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted; the 
person having the greatest number of votes for president shall be 
the president, if such number be a majority of the whole number 
of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then 
from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, 
on the list of those voted for as president, the house of represent- 
atives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the president. But in 
choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by states, the very- 



FEDERAL CONSTITUTION 281 

resentation from each state having one vote: a quorum for this pur- 
pose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the 
states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a 
choice. And if the house of representatives shall not choose a 
president whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, 
before the fourth day of March next following, then the vice-presi- 
dent shall act as president, as in the case of the death or other con- 
stitutional disability of the president. 

2. The person having the greatest number of votes as vice-presi- 
dent, shall be the vice-president, if such number be a majority of 
the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have a 
majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list the sen- 
ate shall choose a vice-president. A quorum for the purpose shall 
consist of two-thirds of the whole number of senators, and a ma- 
jority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice. 

3. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of presi- 
dent shall be eligible to that of vice-president of the United States. 

XIII. 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,- except as a 
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly con- 
victed, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to 
their jurisdiction. 

2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropri- 
ate legislation. 

XIV. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States 
and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce 
any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens 
of the United States, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, 
liberty or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any per- 
son within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states, 
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number 
of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when 
the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for presi- 
dent and vice-president of the United States, representatives in con- 
gress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members 
of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of 
such state being 21 years of age and citizens of the United States, 
or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion or other 



282 APPENDIX "A" 

crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the 
proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to 
the whole number of male citizens 21 years of age in such state. 

3. No person shall be a senator or representative in congress, 
or elector of president and vice-president, or hold any office, civil or 
military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having 
previously taken an oath as a member of congress, or as an officer 
of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as 
an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the constitu- 
tion of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or re- 
bellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies 
thereof. But congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, 
remove such disability. 

4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized 
by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and 
bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall 
not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall 
assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection 
or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or 
emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and 
claims shall be held illegal and void. 

5. The congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate leg- 
islation, the provisions of this article. 

XV. 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on ac- 
count of race, color or previous condition of rervitude. 

2. The congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro- 
priate legislation. 



APPENDIX "B." 
ACT OF CONGRESS, APRIL 18, 1818. 

Enabling the people of Illinois to form a State Constitution. 

/. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Re£rese?itatives of the 
United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the inhabitants 
of the territory of Illinois be and they are hereby authorized to 
form for themselves a constitution and state government, and to as- 
sume such name as they shall deem proper; and the said state, 
when formed, shall be admitted into the Union upon the same foot- 
ing with the original states, in all respects whatever. 

2. And be it further enacted, That the said state shall consist of all 
the territory included within the following boundaries, to-wit: Be- 
ginning at the mouth of the Wabash river; thence up the same, and 
with the line of Indiana, to the northwert corner of said state; 
thence east with the line of the same state to the middle of Lake 
Michigan; thence north along the middle of said lake, to north lati- 
tude 42 degrees 30 minutes; thence west to the middle of the Missis- 
sippi river; and thence down along the middle of that river to its 
confluence with the Ohio river; and thence up the latter river along 
its northwestern shore, to the beginning: Provided, that the con- 
vention hereinafter provided for, when formed, shall ratify the bound- 
aries aforesaid; otherwise they shall be and remain as now pre- 
scribed by the ordinance for the government of the territory north- 
west of the river Ohio: Provided, also, that the said state shall have 
concurrent jurisdiction with the state of Indiana on the Wabash 
river, so far as said river shall form a "ommon boundary to both, 
and also concurrent jurisdiction on the Mississippi river, with any 
state or states to be formed west thereof, so far as said river shall 
form a common boundary to both. 

3. And be it further enacted, That all white male citizens of the 

(283) 



£84 APPENDIX "B" 

United States, who shall have arrived at the age of twenty-one years, 
and have resided in said territory six months previous to the day 
of election, and all persons having in other respects the legal quali- 
fications to vote for representatives in the general assembly of the 
said territory, be and they are hereby authorized to choose repre- 
sentatives to form a convention, who shall be apportioned among 
the several counties as follows: 

From the county of Bond, two representatives; 

From the county of Madison, three representatives; 

From the county of St. Clair, three representatives; 

From the county of Monroe, two representatives; 

From the county of Randolph, two representatives; 

From the county of Jackson, two representatives; 

From the county of Johnson, two representatives; 

From the county of Pope, two representatives; 

From the county of Gallatin, three representatives; 

From the county of White, two representatives; 

From the county of Edwards, two representatives; 

From the county of Crawford, two representatives; 

From the county of Union, two representatives; 

From the county of Washington, two representatives; 

And from the county of Franklin, two representatives. 

And the election for the representatives aforesaid shall be holden 
on the first Monday of July next, and the two following da 
throughout the several counties in the said territory, and shall be 
conducted in the same manner, and under the same regulations, as 
prescribed by the laws of the said territory regulating elections 
therein for members of the house of representatives. 

4. And be it further enacted, That the members of the convention, 
thus duly elected, be and they are hereby authorized to meet at the 
seat of government of the said territory, on the first Monday of 
the month of August next, which convention, when met, shall first 
determine, by a majority of the whole number elected, whether it 
be, or be not, expedient at that time to form a constitution and 
state government for the people within the said territory, and, if it 
be expedient, the convention shall be and hereby is authorized to 
form a constitution and state government; or, if it be deemed more 
expedient, the said convention shall provide by ordinance for elect- 



ENABLING ACT 285 

ing representatives to form a constitution or frame of government; 
which said representatives shall be chosen in such manner, and in 
such proportion, and shall meet at such time and place as shall be 
prescribed by the said ordinance, and shall then form for the peo- 
ple of said territory a constitution and state government: Provided, 
that the same, whenever formed, shall be republican, and not re- 
pugnant to the ordinance of the 13th of July, 1787, between the 
original states and the people and states of the territory north- 
west of the river Ohio; excepting so much of said articles as relate 
to the boundaries of the states therein to be formed: And provided, 
also, that it shall appear, from the enumeration directed to be made 
by the legislature of the said territory, that there are, within the 
proposed state, not less than 40,000 inhabitants. 

5. And be it further enacted. That until the next general census 
shall be taken, the said state shall be entitled to one representative 
in the house of representatives of the United States. 

6. And be it further enacted, That the following propositions be 
and the same are hereby offered to the convention of the said ter- 
ritory of Illinois, when formed, for their free acceptance or rejec- 
tion, which, if accepted by the convention, shall be obligatory upon 
the United States and the said state. 

First. The section numbered 16 in every township, and, when 
such section has been sold or otherwise disposed of, other lands 
equivalent thereto, and as contiguous as may be, shall be granted 
to the state, for the use of the inhabitants of such township, for the 
use of schools. 

Second. That all salt springs within such state, and the land re- 
served for the use of the same, shall be granted to the said state, 
for the use of the said state, and the same to be used under such 
terms, and conditions, and regulations, as the legislature of the said 
state shall direct: Provided, the legislature shall never sell nor lease 
the same for a longer period than 10 years at any one time. 

Third. That five per cent of the net proceeds of the lands lying 
within such state, and which shall be sold by congress, from and 
after the first day of January, 1819, after deducting all expenses in- 
cident to the same, shall be reserved for the purposes following, 
viz.: two-fifths to be disbursed, under the direction of congress, in 
making roads leading to the state; the residue to be appropriated, 



286 APPENDIX "B" 

by the legislature of the state, for the encouragement of learning, 
of which one-sixth part shall be exclusively bestowed on a college 
or university. 

Fourth. That 36 sections, or one entire township, which shall be 
designated by the president of the United States, together with 
the one heretofore reserved for that purpose, shall be reserved for 
the use of a seminary of learning, and vested in the legislature of 
the said state, to be appropriated solely to the use of such seminary 
by the said legislature: Provided, always, that the four foregoing 
propositions, herein offered, are on the conditions that the conven- 
tion of the said state shall provide, by an ordinance, irrevocable 
without the consent of the United States, that every and each tract 
of land sold by the United States, from and after the first day of 
January, 1819, shall remain exempt from ?*iy tax laid by order, or 
under any authority of, the state, whether for state, county, or 
township, or any other purpose whatever, for the term of five years, 
from and after the day of sale: And further, that the bounty lands 
granted, or hereinafter to be granted, for military services during 
the late war, shall, while they continue to be held by the patentees, 
or their heirs, remain exempt, as aforesaid, from all taxes, for the 
term of three years, from and after the da f e of the patents respec- 
tively; and that all the lands belonging to the citizens of the United 
States, residing without the said state, shall never be taxed higher 
than lands belonging to persons residing therein. 

7. And be it further enacted, That all that part of the territory of 
the United States lying north of the state of Indiana, and which was 
included in the former Indiana territory, together with that part of 
the Illinois territory which is situated north of and not included 
within the boundaries prescribed by this act, to the state thereby 
authorized to be formed, shall be, and hereby is, attached to and 
made a part of the Michigan territory, from and after the formation 
of the said state, subject, nevertheless, to be hereafter disposed of 
by congress, according to the right reserved in the fifth article of 
the ordinance aforesaid, and the inhabitants therein shall be en- 
titled to the same privileges and immunities, and subject to the 
same rules and regulations, in all respects, with the other citizens 
of the Michigan territory. 



APPENDIX "C." 

ORDINANCE OF AUGUST 26, 1818. 

Adopted at Kaskaskia August 26, 1818, by the Convention which 
framed the first constitution of Illinois. 

Whereas, the congress of the United States, in the act entitled 
"An act to enable the people of the Illinois territory to form a 
constitution and state government, and for the admission of such 
state into the Union on an equal footing with the original states," 
passed the 18th of April, 1818, have offered to this convention for 
their free acceptance or rejection the following propositions which, 
if accepted by the convention, are to be obligatory upon the United 
States, viz.: 

1. That section numbered 16 in every township, and when such 
section has been sold, or otherwise disposed of, other lands equiva- 
lent thereto, and as contiguous as may be, shall be granted to 
the state for the use of the inhabitants of such township for the use 
of schools. 

2. That all salt springs within such state, and the lands reserved 
for the use of the same, shall be granted to the said state for the 
use of the said state, and the same to be used under such terms and 
conditions and regulations as the legislature of said state shall di- 
rect: Provided, the legislature shall never sell nor lease the same 
for a longer period than ten years at any one time. 

3. That five per cent of the net proceeds of the lands lying within 
such state, and which shall be sold by congress from and after the 
first day of January, 1819, after deducting all expenses incident to 
the same, shall be reserved for the purposes following, viz.: Two- 
fifths to be disbursed under the direction of congress, in making 
roads leading to the state; the residue to be appropriated by the 
legislature of the state for the encouragement of learning, of which 
one-sixth part shall be exclusively bestowed on a college or uni- 
versity. 

(287) 



288 APPENDIX "C" 

4. That 36 sections, or one entire township, which shall be des- 
ignated by the president of the United States, together with the 
one heretofore reserved for that purpose, shall be reserved for the 
use of a seminary of learning, and vested in the legislature of the 
said state, to be appropriated solely to the use of such seminary by 
the said legislature. 

And whereas, the four foregoing propositions are offered on the 
condition that this convention shall provide by ordinance, irrevoca- 
ble without the consent of the United States, that every and each 
tract of land sold by the United States, from and after the first day 
of January, 1819, shall remain exempt from any tax laid by order 
or under the authority of the state, whether for state, county or 
township, or any other purpose whatever, for the term of five years 
from and after the day of sale. And further, that the bounty lands 
granted, or hereafter to be granted for military services during the 
late war, shall, while they continue to be held by the patentees or 
their heirs, remain exempt as aforesaid from all taxes for the term 
of three years from and after the date of the patents respectively; 
and that all the lands belonging to the citizens of the United States, 
residing without the said state, shall never be taxed higher th?n 
lands belonging to persons residing therein. 

Therefore, this convention, on behalf of, and by the authority of 
the people of the state, do accept of the foregoing propositions; 
and do further ordain and declare, that every and eac'i tract of 
land sold by the United States, from and after the first day of Janu- 
ary, 1819, shall remain exempt from any tax laid by order, or under 
any authority of the state, whether for state, county, or town- 
ship, or any purpose whatever, for the term of five years from and 
after the day of sale. And that the bounty lands granted, or here- 
after to be granted, for military services during the late war, shall, 
while they continue to be held by the patentees or their heirs, re- 
main exempt, as aforesaid, from all taxes for the term of three 
years from and after the date of the patents respectively; and that 
all the lands belonging to the citizens of the United States, residing 
without the said state, shall never be taxed higher than lands be- 
longing to persons residing therein. And this convention do fur- 
ther ordain and declare, that the foregoing ordinance shall not be 
revoked without the consent of the United States. 



APPENDIX "D." 
CONSTITUTION OF 1870. 

Adopted in convention May 13, 1870; ratified by the people July 2, 
1870; in force August 8, 1870. 

Preamble. We, the people of the state of Illinois — grateful to 
Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He 
hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a bless- 
ing upon our endeavors to secure and transmit the same unim- 
paired to succeeding generations — in order to form a more perfect 
government, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, pro- 
vide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and se- 
cure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do or- 
dain and establish this constitution for the state of Illinois. 

ARTICLE I. 
BOUNDARIES. 

The boundaries and jurisdiction of the state shall be as follows, 
to-wit: Beginning at the mouth of the Wabash river; thence up 
the same, and with the line of Indiana, to the northwest corner of 
said state; thence east, with the line of the same state, to the middle 
of Lake Michigan; thence north, along the middle of said lake, to 
north latitude 42 degrees and 30 minutes; thence west to the middle 
of the Mississippi river, and thence down along the middle of that 
river to its confluence with the Ohio river, and thence up the latter 
river, along its northwestern shore, to the place of beginning: 
Provided, that this state shall exercise such jurisdiction upon the 

(289) 



290 APPENDIX "D" 

Ohio river as she is now entitled to, or such as may hereafter be 
agreed upon by this state and the state of Kentucky. 

ARTICLE II. 
BILL OF RIGHTS. 

1. All men are by nature free and independent, and have ce-tain 
inherent and inalienable rights — among these are life, liberty and 
the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights and the protec- 
tion of property, governments are instituted among men, deriving 
their just powers from the consent of the governed. 

2. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, with- 
out due process of law. 

3. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and 
worship, without discrimination, shall forever be guaranteed; and 
no person shall be denied any civil or political right, privilege or 
capacity, on account of his religious opinions; but the liberty of 
conscience hereby secured shall not be construed to dispense with 
oaths or affirmations, excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify prac- 
tices inconsistent with the peace or safely of the state. No person 
shall be required to attend or support any ministry or place of 
worship against his consent, nor shall any preference be given by 
law to any religious denomination or mode of worship. 

4. Every person may freely speak, write and publish on all sub- 
jects, being responsible for the abuse of that liberty; and in all 
trials for libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, when published 
with good motives and for justifiable ends, shall be a sufficient 
defense. 

5. The right of trial by jury as heretofore enjoyed, shall remain 
inviolate; but the trial of civil cases before justices of the peace by 
a jury of less than twelve men may be authorized by law. 

6. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, 
papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall 
not be violated; and no warrant shall issue without probable cause, 
supported by affidavit, particularly describing the place to be 
searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

7. All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for 
capital offenses, where the proof is evident or the presumption 
great; and the privilege or writ of habeas corpus shall not be sus- 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 291 

pended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public 
safety may require it. 

8. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense, 
unless on indictment of a grand jury, except in cases in which the 
punishment is by fine, or imprisonment otherwise than in the 
penitentiary, in cases of impeachment, and in cases arising in the 
army and navy, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of 
war or public danger: Provided, that the grand jury may be abol- 
ished by law in all cases. 

9. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall have the right 
to appear and defend in person and by counsel, to demand the 
nature and cause of the accusation and to have a copy thereof, to 
meet the witnesses face to face, and to have process to compel the 
attendance of witnesses in his behalf, and a speedy public trial by 
an impartial jury of the county or district in which the offense is 
alleged to have been committed. 

10. No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to give 
evidence against himself, or be twice put in jeopardy for the same 
offense. 

11. All penalties shall be proportioned to the nature of the 
offense, and no conviction shall work corruption of blood or for- 
feiture of estate; nor shall any person be transported out of the 
state for any offense committed within the same. 

12. No person shall be imprisoned for debt, unless upon refusal 
to deliver up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, in such 
manner as shall be prescribed by law, or in cases where there is 
strong presumption of fraud. 

13. Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public 
use without just compensation. Such compensation, when not 
made by the state, shall be ascertained by a jury, as shall be pre- 
scribed by law. The fee of land taken for railroad tracks, without 
consent of the owners thereof, shall remain in such owners subject 
to the use for which it is taken. 

14. No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of con- 
tracts, or making any irrevocable grant of special privileges or 
immunities, shall be passed. 

15. The military shall be in strict subordination to the civil 
power. 

16. No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house 



292* APPENDIX "D" 

without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war, except in 
the manner prescribed by law. 

17. The people have the right to assemble in a peaceable manner 
to consult for the common good, to make known their opinions to 
their representatives, and to apply for redress of grievances. 

18. All elections shall be free and equal. 

19. Every person ought to find a certain remedy in the laws for 
all injuries and wrongs which he may receive in his person, prop- 
erty or reputation; he ought to obtain, by law, right and justice 
freely, and without being obliged to purchase it, completely and 
without denial, promptly, and without delay. 

20. A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of civil 
government is absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of 
liberty. 

ARTICLE III. 

DISTRIBUTION OF POWERS. 

The powers of the government of this state are divided into 
three distinct departments — the legislative, executive and judicial; 
and no person, or collection of persons, being one of these depart- 
ments, shall exercise any power properly belonging to either of 
the others, except as hereinafter expressly directed or permitted. 

ARTICLE IV. 
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

i. The legislative power shall be vested in a general assembly, 
which shall consist of a senate and house of representatives, both 
to be elected by the people. 

ELECTION. 

2. An election for members of the general assembly shall be 
held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November, in 
the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, and, 
every two years thereafter, in each county, at such places therein 
as may be provided by law. When vacancies occur in either house, 



J 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 293 

the governor, or persons exercising the powers of governor, shall 
issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

ELIGIBILITY AND OATH. 

3. No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained the 
age of twenty-five years, or a representative who shall not have 
attained the age of twenty-one years. No person shall be a senator 
or representative who shall not be a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not have been for five years a resident of this state, 
and for two years next preceding his election a resident within the 
territory forming the district from which he is elected. No judge 
or clerk of any court, secretary of state, attorney general, state's 
attorney, recorder, sheriff, or collector of public revenue, member 
of either house of congress, or person holding any lucrative office 
under the United States or this state, or any foreign government, 
shall have a seat in the general assembly: Provided, that appoint- 
ments in the militia, and the offices of notary public and justice of 
the peace, shall not be considered lucrative. Nor shall any person, 
holding any office of honor or profit under any foreign government, 
or under the government of the United States (except postmasters 
whose annual compensation does not exceed the sum of $300), hold 
any office of honor or profit under the authority of this state. 

4. No person who has been, or hereafter shall be, convicted of 
bribery, perjury, or other infamous crime, nor any person who has 
been or may be a collector or holder of public moneys, who shall 
not have accounted for and paid over, according to law, all such 
moneys due from him, shall be eligible to the general assembly, or 
to any office of profit or trust in this state. 

5. Members of the general assembly, before they enter upon 
their official duties, shall take and subscribe the following oath or 
affirmation: 

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the 
United States, and the constitution of the State of Illinois, and will faithfully 
discharge the duties of senator (or representative) according to the best of 
my ability; and that I have not, knowingly or intentionally, paid or con- 
tributed anything, or made any promise, in the nature of a bribe, to directly 
or indirectly influence any vote at the election at which I was chosen to fill 
the said office, and have not accepted, nor will I accept or receive, directly 
or indirectly, any money or other valuable thing, from any corporation, com- 



294 APPENDIX "D" 

pany or person, for any vote or influence I may give or withhold on any bill, 
resolution or appropriation, or for any other official act. 

This oath shall be administered by a judge of the supreme or 
circuit court, in the hall of the house to which the member is 
elected, and the secretary of state shall record and file the oath 
subscribed by each member. Any member who shall refuse to take 
the oath herein prescribed, shall forfeit his office, and every member 
who shall be convicted of having sworn falsely to or of violating his 
said oath, shall forfeit his office, and be disqualified thereafter from 
holding any office of profit or trust in this state. 

APPORTIONMENT — SENATORIAL. 
6. The general assembly shall apportion the state every ten years, 
beginning with the year 1871, by dividing the population of the 
state, as ascertained by the federal census, by the number 51, and 
the quotient shall be the ratio of representation in the senate. 
The state shall be divided into 51 senatorial districts, each of which 
shall elect one senator, whose term of office shall be four years. 
The senators elected in the year of our Lord 1872, in districts 
bearing odd numbers, shall vacate their offices at the end of two 
years, and those elected in districts bearing even numbers, at the 
end of four years; and vacancies occurring by the expiration of 
term, shall be filled by the election of senators for the full term. 
Senatorial districts shall be formed of contiguous and compact ter- 
ritory, bounded by county lines, and contain, as nearly as practica- 
ble, an equal number of inhabitants; but no district shall contain 
less than four-fifths of the senatorial ratio. Counties containing 
not less than the ratio and three-fourths, may be divided into sep- 
arate districts, and shall be entitled to two senators, and to one 
additional senator for e^ch number of inhabitants equal to the 
ratio contained by such counties in excess of twice the number of 
said ratio. 

Note.— By the adoption of minority representation, sections 7 and 8 of this 
article cease to be a part of the constitution. Under section 12 of the schedule 
and the vote of the adoption, the following section relating to minority repre- 
sentation is substituted for said sections: 

MINORITY REPRESENTATION. 
7 and 8. The house of representatives shall consist of three times 
the number of the members of the senate, and the term of office 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 295 

shall be two years. Three representatives shall be elected in each 
senatorial district at the general election in the year of our Lord 
1872, and every two years thereafter. In all elections of representa- 
tives aforesaid, each qualified voter may cast as many votes for one 
candidate as there are representatives to be elected, or may dis- 
tribute the same, or equal parts thereof, among the candidates, as 
he shall see fit; and the candidates highest in votes shall be declared 
elected. 

TIME OF MEETING AND GENERAL RULES. 

9. The sessions of the general assembly shall commence at 12 
o'clock noon, on the Wednesday next after the first Monday in 
January, in the year next ensuing the election of members thereof, 
and at no other time, unless as provided by this constitution. A 
majority of the members elected to each house shall constitute a 
quorum. Each house shall determine the rules of its proceedings, 
and be the judge of the election, returns and qualifications of its 
members; shall choose its own officers; and the senate shall choose 
a temporary president to preside when the lieutenant-governor shall 
not attend as president or shall act as governor. The secretary of 
state shall call the house of representatives to order at the opening 
of each new assembly, and preside over it until a temporary pre- 
siding officer thereof shall have been chosen and shall have taken 
his seat. No member shall be expelled by either house except by 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to that house, and 
no member shall be twice expelled for the same offense. Each 
house may punish, by imprisonment, any person not a member, 
who shall be guilty of disrespect to the house by disorderly or 
contemptuous behavior in its presence. But no such imprisonment 
shall extend beyond twenty-four hours at one time, unless the per- 
son shall persist in such disorderly or contemptuous behavior. 

10. The doors of each house, and of committees of the whole, 
shall be kept open, except in such cases as, in the opinion of the 
house, require secrecy. Neither house shall, without the consent of 
the other, adjourn for more than two days, or to any other place 
than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. Each house 
shall keep a journal of its proceedings, which shall be published. 
In the senate at the request of two members, and in the house at 
the request of five members, the yeas and nays shall be taken on 



296 APPENDIX "D" 

any question, and entered upon the journal. Any two members of 
either house shall have liberty to dissent from and protest, in 
respectful language, against any act or resolution which they think 
injurious to the public or to any individual, and have the reasons 
of their dissent entered upon the journals. 

STYLE OF LAWS AND PASSAGE OF BILLS. 

ii. The style of the laws of this state shall be: "Be it enacted by 
the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General As- 
sembly." 

12. Bills may originate in either house, but may be altered, 
amended or rejected by the other; and on the final passage of all 
bills, the vote shall be by yeas and nays, upon each bill separately, 
and shall be entered upon the journal; and no bill shall become a 
law without the concurrence of the majority of the members elected 
to each house. 

13. Every bill shall be read at large on three different days, in 
each house; and the bill and all amendments thereto shall be printed 
before the vote is taken on its final passage; and every bill, having 
passed both houses, shall be signed by the speakers thereof. No 
act hereafter passed shall embrace more than one subject, and that 
shall be expressed in the title. But if any subject shall be embraced 
in an act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be 
void only as to so much thereof as shall not be so expressed; and no 
law shall be revived or amended by reference to its title only, but 
the law revived, or the section amended, shall be inserted at length 
in the new act. And no act of the general assembly shall take effect 
until the first day of July next after its passage, unless, in case of 
emergency (which emergency shall be expressed in the preamble 
or body of the act), the general assembly shall, by a vote of two- 
thirds of all the members elected to each house, otherwise direct. 

PRIVILEGES AND DISABILITIES. 

14. Senators and representatives shall, in all cases, except treason, 
felony or breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during the 
session of the general assembly, and in going to and returning from 
the same; and for any speech or debate in either house, they shall 
not be questioned in any other place. 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 29? 

15. No person elected to the general assembly shall receive any 
civil appointment within this state from the governor, the governor 
and senate, or from the general assembly, during the term for which 
he shall be elected; and all such appointments and all votes given 
for any such members for any such office or appointment, shall be 
void; nor shall any member of the general assembly be interested, 
either directly or indirectly, in any contract with the state, or any 
county thereof, authorized by any law passed during the term for 
which he shall have been elected, or within one year after the 
expiration thereof. 

PUBLIC MONEYS AND APPROPRIATIONS. 

16. The general assembly shall make no appropriation of money 
out of the treasury in any private law. Bills making appropriations 
for the pay of members and officers of the general assembly, and 
for the salaries of the officers of the government, shall contain no 
provision on any other subject. 

17. No money shall be drawn from the treasury except in pur- 
suance of an appropriation made by law, and on the presentation of 
a warrant issued by the auditor thereon; and no money shall be 
diverted from any appropriation made for any purpose, or taken 
from any fund whatever, either by joint or separate resolution. 
The auditor shall, within 60 days after the adjournment of each 
session of the general assembly, prepare and publish a full statement 
of all money expended at such session, specifying the amount of 
each item, and to whom and for what paid. 

18. Each general assembly shall provide for all the appropria- 
tions necessary for the ordinary and contingent expenses of the 
government until the expiration of the first fiscal quarter after the 
adjournment of the next regular session, the aggregate amount of 
which shall not be increased without a vote of two-thirds of the 
members elected to each house, nor exceed the amount of revenue 
authorized by law to be raised in such time; and all appropriations, 
general or special, requiring money to be paid out of the state 
treasury, from funds belonging to the state, shall end with such 
fiscal quarter: Provided, the state may, to meet casual deficits or 
failures in revenues, contract debts, never to- exceed in the aggre- 
gate $250,000; and moneys thus borrowed shall be applied to the 



298 APPENDIX "D" 

purpose for which they were obtained, or to pay the debt thus 
created, and to no other purpose; and no other debt, except for the 
purpose of repelling invasion, suppressing insurrection, or defend- 
ing the state in war (for payment of which the faith of the state 
shall be pledged), shall be contracted, unless the law authorizing 
the same shall, at a general election, have been submitted to the 
people, and have received a majority of the votes cast for members 
of the general assembly at such election. The general assembly 
shall provide for the publication of said law for three months at 
least before the vote of the people shall be taken upon the same; 
and provision shall be made, at the time, for the payment of the 
interest annually, as it shall accrue, by a tax levied for the purpose 
or from other sources of revenue; which law, providing for the 
payment of such interest by such tax, shall be irrepealable until 
such debt be paid: And, provided, further, that the law '/evying the 
tax shall be submitted to the people with the law authorizing the 
debt to be contracted. 

19. The general assembly shall never grant or authorize extra 
compensation, fee or allowance to any public officer, agent, servant 
or contractor, after service has been rendered or a contract made, 
nor authorize the payment of any claim, or part thereof, hereafter 
created against the state under any agreement or contract made 
without express authority of law; and all such unauthorized agree- 
ments or contracts shall be null and void: Provided, the general 
assembly may make appropriations for expenditures incurred in 
suppressing insurrection or repelling invasion. 

20. The state shall never pay, assume or become responsible for 
the debts or liabilities of, or in any manner give, loan or extend 
its credit to or in aid of any public or other corporation, associa- 
tion or individual. 

PAY OF MEMBERS. 

21. The members of the general assembly shall receive for their 
services the sum of $5 per day, during the first session held under 
this constitution, and 10 cents for each mile necessarily traveled in 
going to and returning from the seat of government, to be com- 
puted by the auditor of public accounts; and thereafter such com- 
pensation as shall be prescribed by law, and no other allowance or 
emolument, directly or indirectly, for any purpose whatever, except 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 299 

the sum of $50 per session to each member, which shall be in full 
for postage, stationery, newspapers and all other incidental expenses 
and perquisites; but no change shall be made in the compensation 
of members of the general assembly during the term for which they 
may have been elected. The pay and mileage allowed to each 
member of the general assembly shall be certified by the speaker 
of their respective houses, and entered on the journals and pub- 
lished at the close of each session. 

SPECIAL LEGISLATION PROHIBITED. 

22. The general assembly shall not pass local or special laws in 
any of the following enumerated cases — that is to say, for — 

Granting divorces; 

Changing the names of persons or places; 

Laying out, opening, altering and working roads or highways; 

Vacating roads, town plats, streets, alleys and public grounds; 

Locating or changing county seats; 

Regulating county and township affairs; 

Regulating the practice in courts of justice; 

Regulating the jurisdiction and duties of justices of the peace 
police magistrates and constables; 

Providing for changes of venue in civil and criminal cases; 

Incorporating cities, towns or villages, or changing or amending 
the charter of any town, city or village; 

Providing for the election of members of the board of supervisors 
in townships, incorporated towns or cities; 

Summoning and impaneling grand or petit juries; 

Providing for the management of common schools; 

Regulating the rate of interest on money; 

The opening and conducting of any election, or designating the 
place of voting; 

The sale or mortgage of real estate belonging to minors or 
others under disability; 

The protection of game or fish; 

Chartering or licensing ferries or toll bridges; 

Remitting fines, penalties or forfeitures; 

Creating, increasing or decreasing fees, percentage or allowances 



300 APPENDIX "D" 

of public officers, during the term for which said officers are elected 
or appointed; 

Changing the law of descent; 

Granting to any corporation, association or individual the right 
to lay down railroad tracks, or amending existing charters for such 
purpose; 

Granting to any corporation, association or individual any 
special or exclusive privilege, immunity or franchise whatever. 

In all other cases where a general law can be made applicable, 
no special law shall be enacted. 

23. The general assembly shall have no power to release or 
extinguish, in whole or in part, the indebtedness, liability, or obli- 
gation of any corporation or individual to this state or to any 
municipal corporation therein. 

IMPEACHMENT. 

24. The house of representatives shall have the sole power of 
impeachment; but a majority of all the members elected must con- 
cur therein. All impeachments shall be tried by the senate; and 
when sitting for that purpose, the senators shall be upon oath, or 
affirmation, to do justice according to law and evidence. When 
the governor of the state is tried, the chief justice shall preside. 
No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds 
of the senators elected. But judgment, in such cases, shall not 
extend further than removal from office and disqualification to hold 
any office of honor, profit or trust under the government of this 
state. The party, whether convicted or acquitted, shall, neverthe- 
less, be liable to prosecution, trial, judgment and punishment ac- 
cording to law. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

25. The general assembly shall provide, by law, that the fuel, 
stationery and printing paper furnished for the use of the state; the 
copying, printing, binding and distributing the laws and journals, 
and all other printing ordered by the general assembly, shall be let 
by contract to the lowest responsible bidder; but the general assem- 
bly shall fix a maximum price; and no member thereof, or other 
Officer of the state, shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in such 
contract. But all such contracts shall be subject to the approval 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 301 

of the governor, and if he disapproves the same there shall be a 
re-letting of the contract, in such manner as shall be prescribed 
by law. 

26. The state of Illinois shall never be made defendant in any 
court of law or equity. 

27. The general assembly shall have no power to authorize lot- 
teries or gift enterprises for any purpose, and shall pass laws to 
prohibit the sale of lottery or gift enterprise tickets in this state. 

28. No law shall be passed which shall operate to extend the 
term of any public officer after his election or appointment. 

29. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to pass such 
laws as may be necessary for the protection of operative miners, by 
providing for ventilation, when the same may be required, and the 
construction of escapement shafts, or such other appliances as may 
secure safety in all coal mines, and to provide for the enforcement 
of said laws by such penalties and punishments as may be deemed 
proper. 

30. The general assembly may provide for establishing and 
opening roads and cartways, connected with a public road, for 
private and public use. 

31. The general assembly may pass laws permitting the owners 
of lands to construct drains, ditches and levees for agricultural, 
sanitary or mining purposes, across the lands of others, and pro- 
vide for the organization of drainage districts and vest the corporate 
authorities thereof with power to construct and maintain levees, 
drains and ditches, and to keep in repair all drains, ditches and 
levees heretofore constructed under the laws of this state, by spe- 
cial assessments upon the property benefited thereby. (This sec- 
tion was submitted to the voters at the election in November, 1878, 
as an amendment, was adopted and became a part of the constitu- 
tion.) 

32. The general assembly shall pass liberal homestead and ex- 
emption laws. 

33. The general assembly shall not appropriate out of the state 
treasury, or expend on account of the new capitol grounds, and 
construction, completion, and furnishing of the state house, a sum 
exceeding, in the aggregate, $3,500,000, inclusive of all appropria- 
tions heretofore made, without first submitting the proposition for 
an additional expenditure to the legal voters of the state, at a gen- 



302 APPENDIX "D" 

eral election; nor unless a majority of all the votes cast at such 
election shall be for the prr posed additional expenditure. 

ARTICLE V. 
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

1. The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieu- 
tenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of public accounts, 
treasurer, superintendent of public instruction and attorney general, 
who shall, each, with the exception of the treasurer, hold his office 
for the term of four years from the second Monday of January next 
after his election, and until his successor is elected and qualified. 
They shall, except the lieutenant governor, reside at the seat of 
government during their term of office, and keep the public records, 
books and papers there, and shall perform such duties as may be 
prescribed by law. 

2. The treasurer shall hold his office for the term of two years, 
and until his successor is elected and qualified, and shall be ineligi- 
ble to said office for two years next after the end of the term for 
which he was elected. He may be required by the governor to give 
reasonable additional security, and in default of so doing his office 
shall be deemed vacant. 

ELECTION. 

3. An election for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of 
state, auditor of public accounts, and attorney general, shall be held 
on the Tuesday next after the first Monday of November, in the 
year of our Lord 1872, and every four years thereafter; for superin- 
tendent of public instruction, on the Tuesday next after the first 
Monday of November, in the year 1870, and every four years there- 
after; and for treasurer on the day last above mentioned, and every 
two years thereafter, at such places and in such manner as may be 
prescribed by law. 

4. The returns of every election for the above named officers 
shall be sealed up and transmitted, by the returning officers, to the 
secretary of state, directed to 'The speaker of the house of repre- 
sentatives," who shall, immediately after the organization of the 
house, and before proceeding to other business, open and publish 
the same in the presence of a majority of each house of the general 
assembly, who shall, for that purpose, assemble in the hall of the 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 303 

house of representatives. The person having the highest number 
of votes for either of said offices shall be declared duly elected; but 
if two or more have an equal and the highest number of votes, the 
general assembly shall, by joint ballot, choose one of such persons 
for said office. Contested elections for all of said orhces shall be 
determined by both houses of the general assembly, by joint ballot, 
in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 

ELIGIBILITY. 

5. No person shall be eligible to the office of governor, or lieu- 
tenant governor, who shall not have attained the age of thirty 
years, and been, for five years next preceding his election, a citizen 
of the United States and of this state. Neither the governor, lieu- 
tenant governor, auditor of public accounts, secretary of state, 
superintendent of public instruction nor attorney general shall be 
eligible to any other office during the period for which he shall 
have been elected. 

GOVERNOR. 

6. The supreme executive power shall be vested in the governor, 
who shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. 

7. The governor shall, at the commencement of each session, 
and at the close of his term of office, give to the general assembly 
information, by message, of the condition of the state, and shall 
recommend such measures as he shall deem expedient. He shall 
account to the general assembly, and accompany his message with 
a statement of all moneys received and paid out by him from any 
funds subject to his order, with vouchers, and, at the commence- 
ment of each regular session, present estimates of the amount of 
money required to be raised by taxation for all purposes. 

8. The governor may, on extraordinary occasions, convene the 
general assembly, by proclamation, stating therein the purpose for 
which they are convened; and the general assembly shall enter 
upon no business except that for which they were called together. 

9. In case of a disagreement between the two houses with respect 
to the time of adjournment, the governor may, on the same being 
certified to him, by the house first moving the adjournment, ad- 
journ the general assembly to such time as he thinks proper, not 
beyond the first day of the next regular session. 



304 APPENDIX "D" 

10. The governor shall nominate, and by and with the advice and 
consent of the senate (a majority of all the senators elected con- 
curring, by yeas and nays), appoint all officers whose offices are 
established by this constitution, or which may be created by law, 
and whose appointment or election is not otherwise provided for; 
and no such officer shall be appointed or elected by the general 
assembly. 

ii. In any case of vacancy, during the recess of the senate, in 
any office which is not elective, the governor shall make a tem- 
porary appointment until the next meeting of the senate, when he 
shall nominate some person to fill such office; and any person so 
nominated, who is confirmed by the senate (a majority of all the 
senators elected concurring by yeas and nays), shall hold his office 
during the remainder of the term, and until his successor shall be 
appointed and qualified. No person, after being rejected by the 
senate, shall be again nominated for the same office at the same 
session, unless at the request of the senate, or be appointed to the 
same office during the recess of the general assembly. 

12. The governor shall have power to remove any officer whom 
he may appoint, in case of incompetency, neglect of duty, or mal- 
feasance in office; and he may declare his office vacant, and fill the 
same as is herein provided in other cases of vacancy. 

13. The governor shall have power to grant reprieves, com- 
mutations and pardons, after conviction, for all offenses, subject 
to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the 
manner of applying therefor. 

14. The governor shall be commander-in-chief of the military 
and naval forces of the state (except when they shall be called into 
the service of the United States), and may call out the same to 
execute the laws, suppress insurrection, and repel invasion. 

15. The governor, and all civil officers of this state, shall be 
liable to impeachment for any misdemeanor in office. 

VETO. 

16. Every bill passed by the general assembly shall, before it 
becomes a law, be presented to the governor. If he approve, he 
shall sign it, and thereupon it shall become a law; but if he do not 
approve, he shall return it, with his objections, to the house in 
which it shall have originated, which house shall enter the objec- 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 305 

tions at large upon its journal, and proceed to reconsider the bill. 
If, then, two-thirds of the members elected agree to pass the same, 
it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other house, by 
which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two- 
thirds of the members elected to that house, it shall become a law, 
notwithstanding the objections of the governor. But in all such 
cases the vote of each house shall be determined by yeas and nays, 
to be entered upon the journal. 

Bills making appropriations of money out of the treasury shall 
specifiy the objects and purposes for which the same are made, and 
appropriate to them respectively their several amounts in distinct 
items and sections, and if the governor shall not approve any one 
or more of the items or sections contained in any bill, but shall 
approve the residue thereof, it shall become a law as to the residue 
in like manner as if he had signed it. 

The governor shall then return the bill, with his objections to 
the items or sections of the same not approved by him, to the 
house in which the bill shall have originated, which house shall 
enter the objections at large upon its journal, and proceed to 
reconsider so much of said bill as is not approved by the governor. 

The same proceedings shall be had in both houses in reconsid- 
ering the same as is hereinbefore provided in case of an entire bill 
returned by the governor with his objections; and if any item or 
section of said bill not approved by the governor shall be passed 
by two-thirds of the members elected to each of the two houses of 
the general assembly, it shall become part of said law, notwith- 
standing the objections of the governor. 

Any bill which shall not be returned by the governor within ten 
days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, 
shall become a law in like manner as if he had signed it; unless the 
general assembly shall, by their adjournment, prevent its return, in 
which case it shall be filed with his objections in the office of the 
secretary of state, within ten days after such adjournment, or be- 
come a law. 

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. 

17. In cas« of the death, conviction on impeachment, failure to 
qualify, resignation, absence from the state, or other disability of 
the governor, the powers, duties and emoluments of the office, for 



306 APPENDIX "D" 

the residue of the term, or until the disability shall be removed, 
shall devolve upon the lieutenant governor. 

18. The lieutenant governor shall be president of the senate, and 
shall vote only when the senate is equally divided. The senate 
shall choose a president, pro tempore, to preside in case of the 
absence or impeachment of the lieutenant governor, or when he 
shall hold the office of governor. 

19. If there be no lieutenant governor, or if the lieutenant gov- 
ernor shall, for any of the causes specified in section 17 of this 
article, become incapable of performing the duties of the office, the 
president of the senate shall act as governor until the vacancy is 
filled or the disability removed; and if the president of the senate, 
for any of the above named causes, shall become incapable of per- 
forming the duties of governor, the same shall devolve upon the 
speaker of the house of representatives. 



OTHER STATE OFFICERS. 



20. If the office of auditor of public accounts, treasurer, secre- 
tary of state, attorney general, or superintendent of public instruc- 
tion shall be vacated by death, resignation or otherwise, it shall be 
the duty of the governor to fill the same by appointment, and the 
appointee shall hold his office until his successor shall be elected 
and qualified in such manner as may be provided by law. An 
account shall be kept by the officers of the executive department, 
and of all the public institutions of the state, of all moneys received 
or disbursed by them, severally, from all sources, and for every 
service performed, and a semi-annual report thereof be made to 
the governor, under oath; and any officer who makes a false report 
shall be guilty of perjury, and punished accordingly. 

21. The officers of the executive department, and of all the 
public institutions of the state, shall, at least ten days preceding 
each regular session of the general assembly, severally report to 
the governor, who shall transmit such reports to the general assem- 
bly, together with the reports of the judges of the supreme court 
of the defects in the constitution and laws; and the governor may 
at any time require information in writing, under oath, from the 
officers of the executive department, and all officers and managers 



. 






CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 307 

of state institutions, upon any subject relating to the condition, 
management and expenses of their respective offices. 

THE SEAL OF STATE. 

22. There shall be a seal of the state, which shall be called the 
"Great seal of the State of Illinois/' which shall be kept by the 
secretary of state, and used by him, officially, as directed by law. 

FEES AND SALARIES. 

23. The officers named in this article shall receive for their serv- 
ices a salary to be established by law, which shall not be increased 
or diminished during their official terms, and they shall not, after 
the expiration of the terms of those in office at the adoption of 
this constitution, receive to their own use any fees, costs, perquisites 
or office, or other compensation. And all fees that may hereafter 
be payable by law for any service performed by any officer pro- 
vided for in this article of the constitution, shall be paid in advance 
into the state treasury. 

DEFINITION AND OATH OF OFFICE. 

24. An office is a public position created by the constitution or 
law, continuing during the pleasure of the appointing power, or 
for a fixed time, with a successor elected or appointed. An em- 
ployment is an agency, for a temporary purpose, which ceases 
when that purpose is accomplished. 

25. All civil officers, except members of the general assembly 
and such inferior officers as may be by law exempted, shall, before 
they enter on the duties of their respective offices, take and sub- 
scribe the following oath or affirmation: 

I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the 
constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the state of Illinois, 

and that I will faithfully dis-charge the duties of the office of according 

to the best of my ability. 

And no other oath, declaration or test shall be required as a 
qualification. 

ARTICLE VI. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT, 
i. The judicial powers, except as in this article is otherwise 
provided, shall be vested in one supreme court, circuit courts, 



308 APPENDIX "D" 

county courts, justices of the peace, police magistrates, and such 
courts as may be created by law in and for cities and incorporated 
towns. 

SUPREME COURT. 

2. The supreme court shall consist of seven judges, and shall 
have original jurisdiction in cases relating to the revenue, in 
mandamus and habeas corpus, and appellate jurisdiction in all other 
cases. One of said judges shall be chief justice; four shall con- 
stitute a quorum, and the concurrence of four shall be necessary 
to every decision. 

3. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of the 
supreme court unless he shall be at least thirty years of age, and a 
citizen of the United States, nor unless he shall have resided in 
this state five years next preceding his election, and be a resident 
of the district in which he shall be elected. 

4. Terms of the supreme court shall continue to be held in the 
present grand divisions at the several places now provided for 
holding the same; and until otherwise provided by law, one or 
more terms of said court shall be held, for the northern division, 
in the city of Chicago, each yeaf, at such times as said court may 
appoint, whenever said city or the county of Cook shall provide 
appropriate rooms therefor, and the use of a suitable library, with- 
out expense to the state. The judicial divisions may be altered, 
increased or diminished in number, and the times and places of 
holding said court may be changed by law. 

5. The present grand divisions shall be preserved, and be de- 
nominated Southern, Central and Northern, until otherwise pro- 
vided by law. The state shall be divided into seven districts for 
the election of judges, and until otherwise provided by law, they 
shall be as follows: 

First District. — The counties of St. Clair, Clinton, Washington, 
Jefferson, Wayne, Edwards, Wabash, White, Hamilton, Franklin, 
Perry, Randolph, Monroe, Jackson, Williamson, Saline, Gallatin, 
Hardin, Pope, Union, Johnson, Alexander, Pulaski and Massac. 

Second District. — The counties of Madison, Bond, Marion, Clay, 
Richland, Lawrence, Crawford, Jasper, Effingham, Fayette, Mont- 
gomery, Macoupin, Shelby, Cumberland, Clark, Greene, Jersey, 
Calhoun and Christian. 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 309 

Third District. — The counties of Sangamon, Macon, Logan, De- 
Witt, Piatt, Douglas, Champaign, Vermilion, McLean, Livingston, 
Ford, Iroquois, Coles, Edgar, Moultrie and Tazewell. 

Fourth District. — The counties of Fulton, McDonough, Hancock, 
Schuyler, Brown, Adams, Pike, Mason, Menard, Morgan, Cass 
and Scott. 

Fifth District. — The counties of Knox, Warren, Henderson, Mer- 
cer, Henry, Stark, Peoria, Marshall, Putnam, Bureau, LaSalle, 
Grundy and Woodford. 

Sixth District. — The counties of Whiteside, Carroll, Jo Daviess, 
Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Kane, Kendall, De- 
Kalb, Lee, Ogle and Rock Island. 

Seventh District. — The counties of Lake, Cook, Will, Kankakee 
and DuPage. 

The boundaries of the districts may be changed at the session of 
the general assembly next preceding the election for judges therein, 
and at no other time; but whenever such alterations shall be made, 
the same shall be upon the rule of equality of population, as nearly 
as county bounds will allow, and the districts shall be composed of 
contiguous counties, in as nearly compact form as circumstances 
will permit. The alteration of the districts shall not affect the 
tenure of office of any judge. 

6. At the time of voting on the adoption of this constitution, 
one judge of the supreme court shall be elected by the electors 
thereof, in each of said districts numbered two, three, six and 
seven, who shall hold his office for the term of nine years, from 
the first Monday of June, in the year of our Lord 1870. The term 
of office of judges of the supreme court, elected after the adoption 
of this constitution, shall be nine years; and on the first Monday 
of June of the year in which the term of any of the judges in office 
at the adoption of this constitution, or of the judges then elected, 
shall expire, and every nine years thereafter, there shall be an 
election for the successor or successors of such judges, in the 
respective districts wherein the term of such judges shall expire. 
The chief justice shall continue to act as such until the expiration 
of the term for which he was elected, after which the judges shall 
choose one of their number chief justice. 

7. From and after the adoption of this constitution, the judges of 
the supreme court shall each receive a salary of $4,000 per annum. 



310 APPENDIX "D" 

payable quarterly, until otherwise provided by law. And after said 
salaries shall be fixed by law, the salaries of the judges in office 
shall not be increased or diminished during the terms for which 
said judges shall have been elected. 

8. Appeals and writs of error may be taken to the supreme court, 
held in the grand division in which the case is decided, or, by con- 
sent of the parties, to any other grand division. 

9. The supreme court shall appoint one reporter of its decisions, 
who shall hold his office for six years, subject to removal by the 
court. 

10. At the time of the election for representatives in the general 
assembly, happening next preceding the expiration of the terms of 
office of the present clerks of said court, one clerk of said court 
for each division shall be elected, whose term of office shall be six 
years from said election, but who shall not enter upon the duties 
of his office until the expiration of the term of his predecessor, and 
every six years thereafter one clerk of said court for each division 
shall be elected. 

APPELLATE COURTS. 






11. After the year of our Lord 1874, inferior appellate courts, of 
uniform organization and jurisdiction, may be created in districts 
formed for that purpose, to which such appeals and writs of error 
as the general assembly may provide may be prosecuted from cir- 
cuit and other courts, and from which appeals and writs of error 
shall lie to the supreme court, in all criminal cases, and cases in 
which a franchise or freehold or the validity of a statute is involved, 
and in such other cases as may be provided by law. Such appellate 
courts shall be held by such number of judges of the circuit courts, 
and at such times and places, and in such manner, as may be pro- 
vided by law; but no judge shall sit in review upon cases decided by 
him, nor shall said judges receive any additional compensation for 
such services. 

CIRCUIT COURTS. 

12. The circuit courts shall have original jurisdiction of all 
causes in law and equity, and such appellate jurdisdiction as is or 
may be provided by law, and shall hold two or more terms each 
year in every county. The terms of office of judges of circuit 
courts shall be six years. « 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 311 

13. The state exclusive of the county of Cook and other counties 
having a population of 100,000, shall be divided into judicial cir- 
cuits, prior to the expiration of the terms of office of the present 
judges of the circuit courts. Such circuits shall be formed of con- 
tiguous counties, in as nearly compact form and as nearly equal as 
circumstances will permit, having due regard to business, territory 
and population, and shall not exceed in number one circuit for 
every 100,000 of population in the state. One judge shall be elected 
for each of said circuits by the electors thereof. New circuits may 
be formed and the boundaries of circuits changed by the general 
assembly, at its session next preceding the election for circuit 
judges, but at no other time: Provided, that the circuits may be 
equalized or changed at the first session of the general assembly 
after the adoption of this constitution. The creation, alteration or 
change of any circuit shall not affect the tenure of office of any 
judge. Whenever the business of the circuit court of any one or 
of two or more contiguous counties, containing a population ex- 
ceeding 50,000, shall occupy nine months of the year, the general 
assembly may make of such county or counties a separate circuit. 
Whenever additional circuits are created, the foregoing limitations 
shall be observed. 

14. The general assembly shall provide for the times of holding 
court in each county, which shall not be changed, except by the 
general assembly next preceding the general election for judges 
of said courts; but additional terms may be provided for in any 
county. The election for judges of the circuit courts shall be held 
en the first Monday in June, in the year of our Lord 1873, and 
every six years thereafter. 

15. The general assembly may divide the state into judicial cir- 
cuits of greater population and territory, in lieu of the circuits 
provided for in section 13 of this article, and provide for the elec- 
tion therein, severally, by the electors thereof, by general ticket, 
of not exceeding four judges, who shall hold the circuit courts in 
the circuit for which they shall be elected, in such manner as may 
be provided by law. 

16. From and after the adoption of this constitution, judges of 
the circuit courts shall receive a salary of $3,000 per annum, pay- 
able quarterly, until otherwise provided by law. And after their 
salaries shall be fixed by law, they shall not be increased or dimin- 



312 APPENDIX "D" 

ished during the terms for which said judges shall be, respectively, 
elected; and from and after the adoption of this constitution, no 
judge of the supreme or circuit court shall receive any other com- 
pensation, perquisite or benefit, in any form whatsoever, nor per- 
form any other than judicial duties to which may belong any 
emoluments. 

17. No person shall be eligible to the office of judge of the cir- 
cuit or any inferior court, or to membership in the "board of county 
commissioners," unless he shall be at least 25 years of age, and a 
citizen of the United States, nor unless he shall have resided in 
this state five years next preceding his election, and be a resident 
of the circuit, county, city, cities or incorporated town in which he 
shall be elected. 

COUNTY COURTS. 

18. There shall be elected in and for each county, one county 
judge and one clerk of the county court, whose terms of office 
shall be four years. But the general assembly may create districts 
of two or more contiguous counties, in each of which shall be 
elected one judge, who shall take the place of and exercise the 
powers and jurisdiction of county judges in such districts. County 
courts shall be courts of record, and shall have original jurisdiction 
in all matters of probate, settlement of estates of deceased persons, 
appointment of guardians and conservators, and settlements of 
their accounts, in all matters relating to apprentices, and in pro- 
ceedings for the collection of taxes and assessments, and such other 
jurisdiction as may be provided for by general law. 

19. Appeals and writs of error shall be allowed from final deter- 
minations of county courts, as may be provided by law. 

PROBATE COURTS. 

20. The general assembly may provide for the establishment of 
a probate court in each county having a population of over 50,000, 
and for the election of a judge thereof, whose term of office shall 
be the same as that of the county judge, and who shall be elected 
at the same time and in the same manner. Said courts, when 
established, shall have original jurisdiction of all probate matters, 
the settlement of estates of deceased persons, the appointment of 
guardians and conservators, and settlement of their accounts; in 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 313 

all matters relating to apprentices, and in cases of the sale* of real 
estate of deceased persons for the payment of debts. 

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE AND CONSTABLES. 

21. Justices of the peace, police magistrates, and constables shall 
be elected in and for such districts as are, or may be, provided by 
law, and the jurisdiction of such justices of the peace and police 
magistrates shall be uniform. 

state's attorneys. 

22. At the election for members of the general assembly in the 
year of our Lord 1872, and every four years thereafter, there shall 
be elected a state's attorney in and for each county, in lieu of the 
state's attorneys now provided by law, whose term of office shall 
be four years. 

COURTS OF COOK COUNTY. 

23. The county of Cook shall be one judicial circuit. The cir- 
cuit of Cook county shall consist of five judges, until their number 
shall be increased, as herein provided. The present judge of the 
recorder's court of the city of Chicago, and the present judge of 
the circuit court of Cook county, shall be two of said judges, and 
shall remain in office for the terms for which they were respectively 
elected and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. 
The superior court of Chicago shall be continued, and called the 
superior court of Cook county. The general assembly may increase 
the number of said judges, by adding one to either of said courts 
for every additional 50,000 inhabitants in said county, over and 
above a population of 400,000. The terms of office of the judges 
of said courts hereafter elected, shall be six years. 

24. The judge having the shortest unexpired term shall be chief 
justice of the court of which he is a judge. In case there are two 
or more whose terms expire at the same time, it may be deter- 
mined by lot which shall be chief justice. Any judge of either of 
said courts shall have all the powers of a circuit judge, and may 
hold the court of which he is a member. Each of them may hold a 
different branch thereof at the same time. 

25. The judges of the superior and circuit courts, and the state's 
attorney, in said county, shall receive the same salaries, payable 



314 APPENDIX "D" 

out of the state treasury, as is or may be paid from said treasury 
to the circuit judges and state's attorneys of the state, and such 
further compensation, to be paid by the county of Cook, as is or 
may be provided by law; such compensation shall not be changed 
during their continuance in office. 

26. The recorder's court of the city of Chicago shall be con- 
tinued, and shall be called the "criminal court of Cook county." 
It shall have the jurisdiction of a circuit court, in all cases of crim- 
inal and quasi criminal nature, arising in the county of Cook, or 
that may be brought before said court pursuant to law; and all 
recognizances and appeals taken in said county, in criminal and 
quasi criminal cases, shall be returnable and taken to said court. 
It shall have no jurisdiction in civil cases, except in those on 
behalf of the people, and incident to such criminal or quasi 
criminal matters, and to dispose of unfinished business. The 
terms of said criminal court of Cook county shall be held by one 
or more of the judges of the circuit or superior court of Cook 
county, as nearly as may be in alternation, as may be determined 
by said judges, or provided by law. Said judges shall be ex officio 
judges of said court. 

27. The present clerk of the recorder's court of the city of Chi- 
cago shall be the clerk of the criminal court of Cook county, during 
the term for which he was elected. The present clerks of the 
superior court of Chicago, and the present clerk of the circuit court 
of Cook county, shall continue in office during the terms for which 
they were respectively elected; and thereafter there shall be but 
one clerk of the superior court, to be elected by the qualified elect- 
ors of said county, who shall hold his office for the term of four 
years, and until his successor is elected and qualified. 

28. All justices of the peace in the city of Chicago shall be ap- 
pointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of 
the senate (but only upon the recommendation of a majority of 
the judges of the circuit, superior and county courts), and for such 
districts as are now or shall hereafter be provided by law. They 
shall hold their offices for four years, and until their successors 
have been commissioned and qualified, but they may be removed 
by summary proceeding in the circuit or superior court, for extor- 
tion or other malfeasance. Existing justices of the peace and 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 315 

police magistrates may hold their offices until the expiration of 
their respective terms. 

GENERAL PROVISIONS. 

29. All judicial officers shall be commissioned by the governor. 
All laws relating to courts shall be general, and of uniform opera- 
tion; and the organization, jurisdiction, powers, proceedings and 
practice of all courts, of the same class or grade, so far as regulated 
by law, and the force and effect of the process, judgments and de- 
crees of such courts, severally, shall be uniform. 

30. The general assembly may, for cause entered on the journals, 
upon due notice and opportunity of defense, remove from office 
any judge, upon concurrence of three-fourths of all the members 
elected, of each house. All other officers in this article mentioned 
shall be removed from office on prosecution and final conviction 
for misdemeanor in office. 

31. All judges of courts of record, inferior to the supreme court, 
shall, on or before the first day of June, of each year, report in 
writing to the judges of the supreme court such defects and omis- 
sions in the laws as their experience may suggest; and the judges 
of the supreme court shall, on or before the first day of January of 
each year, report in writing to the governor such defects and 
omissions in the constitution and laws as they may find to exist, 
together with appropriate forms of bills to cure such defects and 
omissions in the laws. And the judges of the several circuit courts 
shall report to the next general assembly the number of days they 
have held court in the several counties composing their respective 
circuits, the preceding two years. 

32. All officers provided for in this article shall hold their offices 
until their successors shall be qualified, an4 they shall, respectively, 
reside in the division, circuit, county or district for which they may 
be elected or appointed. The terms of office of all such officers, 
where not otherwise prescribed in this article, shall be four years. 
All officers, where not otherwise provided for in this article, shall 
perform such duties and receive such compensation as is or may be 
provided by law. Vacancies in such elective offices shall be filled by 
election; but where the unexpired term does not exceed one year, 
the vacancy shall be filled by appointment, as follows: Of judges, by 



316 APPENDIX "D" 

the governor; of clerks of courts, by the court to which the office 
appertains, or by the judge or judges thereof; and of all such other 
offices, by the board of supervisors or board of county commis- 
sioners in the county where the vacancy occurs. 

S3. All process shall run: In the name of the People of the State 
of Illinois; and all prosecutions shall be carried on: In the name 
and by the authority of the People of the State of Illinois; and conclude: 
Against the peace and dignity of the same. "Population," wherever 
used in this article, shall be determined by the next preceding 
census of this state, or of the United States. 

ARTICLE VII. 
SUFFRAGE. 

1. Every person having resided in this state one year, in the 
county 90 days, and in the election district 30 days next precding 
any election therein, who was an elector in this state on the first 
day of April, in the year of our Lord 1848, or obtained a certificate 
of naturalization before any court of record in this state prior to 
the first day of January, in the year of our Lord 1870, or who shall 
be a male citizen of the United States, above the age of 21 years, 
shall be entitled to vote at such election. 

2. All votes shall be by ballot. 

3. Electors shall, in all cases except treason, felony, or breach 
of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at 
elections, and in going to and returning from the same. And no 
elector shall be obliged to do military duty on the days of election, 
except in time of war or public danger. 

4. No elector shall be deemed to have lost his residence in this 
state by reason of his absence on business of the United States, or 
of this state, or in the military or naval service of the United States. 

5. No soldier, seaman or marine in the army or navy of the 
United States shall be deemed a resident of this state in conse- 
quence of being stationed therein. 

6. No person shall be elected or appointed to any office in this 
state, civil or military, who is not a citizen of the United States, 
and who shall not have resided in this state one year next preced- 
ing the election or appointment. 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 317 

7. The general assembly shall pass laws excluding from the right 
of suffrage persons convicted of infamous crimes. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

EDUCATION. 

i. The general assembly shall provide a thorough and efficient 
system of free schools, whereby all children of this state may 
receive a good common school education. 

2. All lands, moneys, or other property, donated, granted or 
received for schools, college, seminary or university purposes, and 
the proceeds thereof, shall be faithfully applied to the objects for 
which such gifts or grants were made. 

3. Neither the general assembly nor any county, city, town, 
township, school district, or other public corporation, shall ever 
make any appropriation or pay from any public fund whatever, any- 
thing in aid of any church or sectarian purpose, or to help support 
or sustain any school, academy, seminary, college, university, or 
other literary or scientific institution, controlled by any church or 
sectarian denomination whatever; nor shall any grant or donation 
of land, money, or other personal property, ever be made by the 
state or any such public corporation, to any church, or for any 
sectarian purpose. 

4. No teacher, state, county, township or district school officer 
shall be interested in the sale, proceeds or profits of any book, 
apparatus or furniture used or to be used in any school in this 
state, with which such officer or teacher may be connected, under 
such penalties as may be provided by the general assembly. 

5. There may be a county superintendent of schools in each 
county, whose qualifications, powers, duties, compensation, and 
time and manner of election, and term of office, shall be prescribed 
by law. 

ARTICLE IX. 
REVENUE. 

i. The general assembly shall provide such revenue as may be 
needful by levying a tax, by valuation, so that every person and 
corporation shall pay a tax in proportion to the value of his, her 



318 APPENDIX "D" 

or its property — such value to be ascertained by some person or 
persons, to be elected or appointed in such manner as the general 
assembly shall direct, and not otherwise; but the general assembly 
shall have power to tax peddlers, auctioneers, brokers, hawkers, 
merchants, commission merchants, showmen, jugglers, innkeepers, 
grocery keepers, liquor dealers, toll bridges, ferries, insurance, tele- 
graph and express interests or business, vendors of patents, and 
persons or corporations owning or using franchises and privileges, 
in such manner as it shall from time to time direct by general law, 
uniform as to the class upon which it operates. 

2. The specification of the objects and subjects of taxation shall 
not deprive the general assembly of the power to require other 
subjects or objects to be taxed in such manner as may be con- 
sistent with the principles of taxation fixed in this constitution. 

3. The property of the state, counties, and other municipal cor- 
porations, both real and personal, and such other property as may , 
be used exclusively for agricultural and horticultural societies, for 
school, religious, cemetery and charitable purposes, may be ex- 
empted from taxation; but such exemption shall be only by general 
law. In the assessment of real estate incumbered by public ease- 
ment, any depreciation occasioned by such easement may be de- 
ducted in the valuation of such property. 

4. The general assembly shall provide, in all cases where it may 
be necessary to sell real estate for the non-payment of taxes or 
special assessments for state, county, municipal or other purposes, 
that a return of such unpaid taxes or assessments shall be made to 
some general officer of the county having authority to receive state 
and county taxes; and there shall be no sale of said property for 
any of said taxes or assessments but by said officer, upon the order 
or judgment of some court of record. 

5. The right of redemption from all sales of real estate for the 
non-payment of taxes or special assessments of any character what- 
ever, shall exist in favor of owners and persons interested in such 
real estate, for a period of not less than two years from such sales 
thereof. And the general assembly shall provide by law for reason- 
able notice to be given to the owners or parties interested, by pub- 
lication or otherwise, of the fact of the sale of the property for 
such taxes or assessments, and when the time of redemption shall 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 319 

expire: Provided, that occupants shall in all cases be served with 
personal notice before the time of redemption expires. 

6. The general assembly shall have no power to release or dis- 
charge any county, city, township, town or district whatever, or 
the inhabitants thereof, or the property therein, from their or its 
proportionate share of taxes to be levied for state purposes, nor 
shall commutation for such taxes be authorized in any form what- 
soever. 

7. All taxes levied for state purposes shall be paid into the state 
treasury. 

8. County authorities shall never assess taxes, the aggregate of 
which shall exceed 75 cents per $100 valuation, except for the pay- 
ment of indebtedness existing at the adoption of this constitution, 
unless authorized by a vote of the people of the county. 

9. The general assembly may vest the corporate authorities of 
cities, towns and villages with power to make local improvements 
by special assessment, or by special taxation of contiguous prop- 
erty, or otherwise. For all other corporate purposes, all municipal 
corporations may be vested with authority to assess and collect 
taxes; but such taxes shall be uniform in respect to persons and 
property, within the jurisdiction of the body imposing the same. 

10. The general assembly shall not impose taxes upon municipal 
corporations, or the inhabitants or property thereof, for corporate 
purposes, but shall require that all the taxable property within the 
limits of municipal corporations shall be taxed for the payment of 
debts contracted under authority of law, such taxes to be uniform 
in respect to persons and property, within the jurisdiction of the 
body imposing the same. Private property shall not be liable to be 
taken or sold for the payment of the corporate debts of a municipal 
corporation. 

11. No person who is in default, as collector or custodian of 
money or property belonging to a municipal corporation, shall be 
eligible to any office in or under such corporation. The fees, salary 
or compensation of no municipal officer who is elected or appointed 
for a definite term of office, shall be increased or diminished during 
such term. 

12. No county, city, township, school district, or other municipal 
corporation, shall be allowed to become indebted in any manner or 



320 APPENDIX "D" 

for any purpose, to an amount, including existing indebtedness, in 
the aggregate exceeding five per centum on the value of the taxa- 
ble property therein, to be ascertained by the last assessment for 
state and county taxes, previous to the incurring of such indebt- 
edness. Any county, city, school district, or other municipal cor- 
poration, incurring any indebtedness as aforesaid, shall before, or 
at the time of doing so, provide for the collection of a direct annual 
tax sufficient to pay the interest on such debt as it falls due, and 
also to pay and discharge the principal thereof within twenty years 
from the time of contracting the same. This section shall not be 
construed to prevent any county, city, township, school district, or 
other municipal corporation, from issuing their bonds in compli- 
ance with any vote of the people which may have been had prior 
to the adoption of this constitution in pursuance of any law pro- 
viding therefor.* 

ARTICLE X. 
COUNTIES. 

i. No new county shall be formed or established by the general 
assembly, which will reduce the county or counties, or either of 
them, from which it shall be taken, to less contents than 400 square 
miles; nor shall any county be formed of less contents; nor shall 
any line thereof pass within less than ten miles of any county seat 
of the county or counties proposed to be divided. 

2. No county shall be divided, or have any part stricken there- 
from, without submitting the question to a vote of the people of 
the county, nor unless a majority of all the legal voters of the 
county, voting on the question, shall vote for the same. 

3. There shall be no territory stricken from any county, unless a 
majority of the voters living in such territory shall petition for such 
division; and no territory shall be added to any county without the 
consent of the majority of the voters of the county to which it is 
proposed to be added. But the portion so stricken off and added to 
another county, or formed in whole or in part into a new county, 



♦By an amendment to this section, adopted in 1890, the City of Chicago 
was authorized to issue bonds not exceeding $5,000,000 in amount in aid of 
the World's Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893. 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 321 

shall be holden for, and obliged to pay its proportion of the indebt- 
edness of the county from which it has been taken. 

COUNTY SEATS. 

4. No county seat shall be removed until the point to which it is 
proposed to be removed shall be fixed in pursuance of law, and 
three-fifths of the voters of the county, to be ascertained in such 
manner as shall be provided by general law, shall have voted in 
favor of its removal to such point; and no person shall vote on such 
question who has not resided In the county six months, and in the 
election precinct ninety days next preceding such election. The 
question of the removal of a county seat shall not be oftener sub- 
mitted than once in ten years to a vote of the people. But when 
an attempt is made to remove a county seat to a point nearer to 
the center of a county, then a majority vote only shall be necessary. 

COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 

5. The general assembly shall provide, by general law, for town- 
ship organization, under which any county may organize whenever 
a majority of the legal voters of such county, voting at any general 
election, shall so determine, and whenever any county shall adopt 
township organization, so much of this constitution as provides for 
the management of the fiscal concerns of the said county by the 
board of county commissioners, may be dispensed with, and the 
affairs of said county may be transacted in such manner as the 
general assembly may provide. And in any county that shall have 
adopted a township organization, the question of continuing the 
same may be submitted to a vote of the electors of such county, at 
a general election, in the manner that now is or may be provided 
by law; and if a majority of all the votes cast upon that question 
shall be against township organization, then such organization shall 
cease in said county; and all laws in force in relation to counties 
not having township organization, shall immediately take effect 
and be in force in such county. No two townships shall have the 
same name, and the day of holding the annual township meeting 
shall be uniform throughout the state. 

6. At the first election of county judges under this constitution, 
there shall be elected in each of the counties in this state, not under 



322 APPENDIX "D" 

township organization, three officers, who shall be styled "The 
board of county commissioners," who shall hold sessions for the 
transaction of county business as shall be provided by law. One 
of said commissioners shall hold his office for one year, one for two 
years, and one for three years, to be determined by lot; and every 
year thereafter one such officer shall be elected in each of said 
counties for the term of three years. 

7. The county affairs of Cook county shall be managed by a 
board of commissioners of fifteen persons, ten of whom shall be 
elected from the city of Chicago, and five from towns outside of 
said city, in such manner as may be provided by law. 

COUNTY OFFICERS AND THEIR COMPENSATION. 

8. In each county there shall be elected the following county 
officers, at the general election to be held on the Tuesday after the 
first Monday in November, A. D. 1882: A county judge, county 
clerk, sheriff, and treasurer; and at the election to be held on the 
Tuesday after the first Monday in November, A. D. 1884, a coroner 
and clerk of the circuit court (who may be cx-ofHcio recorder ot 
deeds, except in counties having 60,000 and more inhabitants, in 
which counties a recorder of deeds shall be elected at the general 
election in 1884). Each of said officers shall enter upon the duties 
of his office, respectively, on the first Monday of December, after 
his election, and they shall hold their respective offices for the term 
of four years, and until their successors are elected and qualified: 
Provided, that no person having once been elected to the office of 
sheriff, or treasurer, shall be eligible to re-election to said office for 
four years after the expiration of the term for which he shall have 
been elected.* 

9. The clerks of all the courts of record, the treasurer, sheriff, 
coroner and recorder of deeds of Cook county, shall receive, as their 
only compensation for their services, salaries to be fixed by law, 
which shall in no case be as much as the lawful compensation of a 
judge of the circuit court of said county, and shall be paid, respec- 
tively, only out of the fees of the office actually collected. All fees, 






•This section as amended was proposed by the general assembly, 1879, 
ratified by a vote of the people Nov. 2, 1880, proclaimed adopted by the gov- 
ernor Nov. 22, 1880, 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 323 

perquisites and emoluments (above the amount of said salaries) 
shall be paid into the county treasury. The number of the deputies 
and assistants of such officers shall be determined by rule of the 
circuit court, to be entered of record, and their compensation shall 
be determined by the county board. 

10. The county board, except as provided in section 9 of this 
article, shall fix the compensation of all county officers, with the 
amount of their necessary clerk hire, stationery, fuel and other 
expenses, and in all cases where fees are provided for, said com- 
pensation shall be paid only out of, and shall in no instance exceed, 
the fees actually collected; they shall not allow either of them more 
per annum than $1,500, in counties not exceeding 20,000 inhabitants; 
$2,000 in counties containing 20,000 and not exceeding 30,000 in- 
habitants; $2,500 in counties containing 30,000 and not exceeding 
50,000 inhabitants; $3,000 in counties containing 50,000 and not 
exceeding 70,000 inhabitants; $3,500 in counties containing 70,000 
and not exceeding 100,000 inhabitants; and $4,000 in counties con- 
taining over 100,000 and not exceeding 250,000 inhabitants; and not 
more than $1,000 additional compensation for each additional 
100,000 inhabitants: Provided, that the compensation of no officer 
shall be increased or diminished during his term of office. All fees 
or allowances by them received, in excess of their said compensa- 
tion, shall be paid into the county treasury. 

11. The fees of township officers, and of each class of county 
officers, shall be uniform in the class of counties to which they 
respectively belong. The compensation herein provided for shall 
apply only to officers hereafter elected, but all fees established by 
special laws shall cease at the adoption of this constitution, and 
such officers shall receive only such fees as are provided by general 
law. 

12. All laws fixing the fees of state, county and township officers, 
shall terminate with the terms, respectively, of those who may be 
in office at the meeting of the first general assembly after the 
adoption of this constitution; and the general assembly shall, by 
general law, uniform in its operation, provide for and regulate the 
fees of said officers and their successors, so as to reduce the same 
to a reasonable compensation for services actually rendered, but 
the general assembly may, by general law, classify the counties by 



324 APPENDIX "D" 

population into not more than three classes, and regulate the fees 
according to class. This article shall not be construed as depriving 
the general assembly of the power to reduce the fees of existing 
officers. 

13. Every person who is elected to any office in this state, who 
shall be paid in whole or in part by fees, shall be required by law 
to make a semi-annual report, under oath, to some officer to be 
designated by law, of all his fees and emoluments. 

ARTICLE XI. 

CORPORATIONS. 

i. No corporation shall be created by special laws, or its charter 
extended, changed or amended, except those for charitable, educa- 
tional, penal or reformatory purposes, which are to be and remain 
under the patronage and control of the state, but the general as- 
sembly shall provide, by general laws, for the organization of all 
corporations hereafter to be created. 

2. All existing charters or grants of special or exclusive privi- 
leges, under which organization shall not have taken place, or 
which shall not have been in operation within ten days from the 
time this constitution takes effect, shall thereafter have no validity 
or effect whatever. 

3. The general assembly shall provide, by law, that in all elec- 
tions for directors or managers of incorporated companies, every 
stockholder shall have the right to vote, in person or by proxy, for 
the number of shares of stock owned by him, for as many persons 
as there are directors or managers to be elected, or to accumulate 
said shares, and give one candidate as many votes as the number 
of directors multiplied by the number of his shares of stock shall 
equal, or to distribute them on the same principle among as many 
candidates as he shall think fit; and such directors or managers 
shall not be elected in any other manner. 

4. No law shall be passed by the general assembly granting the 
right to construct and operate a street railroad within any city, 
town or incorporated village, without requiring the consent of the 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 325 

local authorities having the control of the street or highway pro- 
posed to be occupied by such street railroad. 

BANKS. 

5. No state bank shall hereafter be created, nor shall the state 
own or be liable for any stock in any corporation or joint stock 
company or association for banking purposes, now created, or to 
be hereafter created. No act of the general assembly authorizing 
or creating corporations or associations with banking powers, 
whether of issue, deposit or discount, nor amendments thereto, 
shall go into effect or in any manner be in force unless the same 
shall be submitted to a vote of the people at the general election 
next succeeding the passage of the same, and be approved by a 
majority of all the votes cast at such election for or against such 
law. 

6. Every stockholder in a banking corporation or institution 
shall be individually responsible and liable to its creditors, over and 
above the amount of stock by him or her held, to an amount equal 
to his or her respective shares so held, for all its liabilities accruing 
while he or she remains such stockholder. 

7. The suspension of specie payments by banking institutions, on 
their circulation, created by the laws of this state, shall never be 
permitted or sanctioned. Every banking association now, or which 
may hereafter be organized under the laws of this state, shall make 
and publish a full and accurate quarterly statement of its affairs 
(which shall be certified to, under oath, by one or more of its 
officers), as may be provided by law. 

8. If a general banking law shall be enacted, it shall provide for 
the registry and countersigning, by an officer of the state, of all 
bills or paper credit, designed to circulate as money, and require 
security, to the full amount thereof, to be deposited with the state 
treasurer, in the United States or Illinois state stocks, to be rated 
at ten per cent below their par value; and in case of a depreciation 
of said stocks to the amount of ten per cent below par, the bank 
or banks owning said stocks shall be required to make up said 
deficiency by depositing additional stocks. And said law shall also 
provide for the recording of the names of all stockholders in such 



326 APPENDIX "D" 

corporations, the amount of stock held by each, at the time of any 
transfer thereof, and to whom such transfer is made. 

RAILROADS. 

9. Every railroad corporation organized or doing business in 
this state, under the laws or authority thereof, shall have and main- 
tain a public office or place in this state for the transaction of its 
business, where transfers of stock shall be made, and in which shall 
be kept, for public inspection, books, in which shall be recorded 
the amount of capital stock subscribed, and by whom; the names 
of the owners of its stock, and the amounts owned by them 
respectively; the amount of stock paid in, and by whom; the trans- 
fer of said stock; the amount of its assets and liabilities, and the 
names and place of residence of its officers. The directors of every 
railroad corporation shall, annually, make a report, under oath, to 
the auditor of public accounts, or some officer to be designated by 
law, of all their acts and doings, which report shall include such 
matters relating to railroads as may be prescribed by law. And the 
general assembly shall pass laws enforcing by suitable penalties the 
provisions of this section. 

10. The rolling stock, and all other movable property belonging 
to any railroad company or corporation in this state, shall be con- 
sidered personal property, and shall be liable to execution and sale 
in the same manner as the personal property of individuals, and the 
general assembly shall pass no law exempting any such property 
from execution and sale. 

11. No railroad corporation shall consolidate its stock, property 
or franchise with any other railroad corporation owning a parallel 
or competing line; and in no case shall any consolidation take place, 
except upon public notice given, of at least sixty days, to all stock- 
holders, in such manner as may be provided by law. A majority of 
the directors of any railroad corporation, now incorporated or 
hereafter to be incorporated by the laws of this state, shall be citi- 
zens and residents of this state. 

12. Railways heretofore constructed, or that may hereafter be 
constructed in this state, are hereby declared public highways, and 
shall be free to all persons for th* transportation of their persons 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 327 

and property thereon, under such regulations as may be prescribed 
by law. And the general assembly shall, from time to time, pass 
laws establishing reasonable maximum rates of charges for the 
transportation of passengers and freight on the different railroads 
in this state. 

13. No railroad corporation shall issue any stock or bonds, ex- 
cept for money, labor or property actually received, and applied to 
the purposes for which such corporation was created; and all stock 
dividends, and other fictitious increase of the capital stock or in- 
debtedness of any such corporation, shall be void. The capital 
stock of no railroad corporation shall be increased for any purpose, 
except upon giving sixty days' public notice, in such manner as 
may be provided by law. 

14. The exercise of the power, and the right of eminent domain, 
shall never be so construed or abridged as to prevent the taking, by 
the general assembly, of the property and franchises of incorporated 
companies already organized, and subjecting them to the public 
necessity the same as of individuals. The right of trial by jury shall 
be held inviolate in all trials of claims for compensation, when, in 
the exercise of the said right of eminent domain, any incorporated 
company shall be interested either for or against the exercise of 
said right. 

15. The general assembly shall pass laws to correct abuses and 
prevent unjust discrimination and extortion in the rates of freight 
and passenger tariffs on the different railroads in this state, and 
enforce such laws by adequate penalties, to the extent, if necessary 
for that purpose, of forfeiture of their property and franchises. 

ARTICLE XII. 

MILITIA. 

i. The militia of the state of Illinois shall consist of all able- 
bodied male persons, resident in the state, between the ages of 
eighteen and forty-five, except such persons as now are, or here- 
after may be, exempted by the laws of the United States, or of 
this state. 

2. The general assembly, in providing for the organization, 
equipment and discipline of the militia, shall conform as nearly as 



328 APPENDIX "D" 

practicable to the regulations for the government of the armies of 
the United States. 

3. All militia officers shall be commissioned by the governor, 
and may hold their commissions for such time as the general 
assembly may provide. 

4. The militia shall in all cases, except treason, felony, or breach 
of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at 
musters and elections, and in going to and returning from the 
same. 

5. The military records, banners and relics of the state, shall be 
preserved as an enduring memorial of the patriotism and valor of 
Illinois, and it shall be the duty of the general assembly to provide, 
by law, for the safe keeping of the same. 

6. No person having conscientious scruples against bearing arms 
shall be compelled to do militia duty in time of peace: Provided, 
such person shall pay an equivalent for such exemption. 

ARTICLE XIII. 
WAREHOUSES. 

1. All elevators or storehouses where grain or other property 
is stored for a compensation, whether the property stored be kept 
separate or not, are declared to be public warehouses. 

2. The owner, lessee or manager of each and every public ware- 
house situated in any town or city of not less than 100,000 inhabi- 
tants, shall make weekly statements under oath, before some officer 
to be designated by law, and keep the same posted in some con- 
spicuous place in the office of such warehouse, and shall also file 
a copy for public examination in such place as shall be designated 
by law, which statement shall correctly set forth the amount and 
grade of each and every kind of grain in such warehouse, together 
with such other property as may be stored therein, and what ware- 
house receipts have been issued, and are, at the time of making 
such statement, outstanding therefor; and shall, on the copy posted 
in the warehouse, note daily such changes as may be made in the 
quantity and grade of grain in such warehouse; and the different 
grades of grain shipped in separate lots shall not be mixed with 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 329 

inferior or superior grades without the consent of the owner or 
consignee thereof. 

3. The owners of property stored in any warehouse, or holder 
of a receipt for the same, shall always be at liberty to examine 
such property stored, and all the books and records of the ware- 
house in regard to such property. 

4. All railroad companies and other common carriers on rail- 
roads shall weigh or measure grain at points where it is shipped, 
and receipt for the full amount, and shall be responsible for the 
delivery of such amount to the owner or consignee thereof, at the 
place of designation. 

5. All railroad companies receiving and transporting grain in 
bulk or otherwise, shall deliver the same to any consignee thereof, 
or any elevator or public warehouse to which it may be consigned, 
provided such consignee or the elevator or public warehouse can 
be reached by any track owned, leased or used, or which can be 
used, by such railroad companies; and all railroad companies shall 
permit connections to be made with their track, so that any such 
consignee, and any public warehouse, coal bank or coal yard, may 
be reached by the cars on said railroad. 

6. It shall be the duty of the general assembly to pass all neces- 
sary laws to prevent the issue of false and fraudulent warehouse 
receipts, and to give full effect to this article of the constitution, 
which shall be liberally construed so as to protect producers and 
shippers. And the enumeration of the remedies herein named shall 
not be construed to deny to the general assembly the power to 
prescribe by law such other and further remedies as may be found 
expedient, or to deprive any person of existing common law 
remedies. 

7. The general assembly shall pass laws for the inspection of 
grain, for the protection of producers, shippers and receivers of 
grain and produce. 

ARTICLE XIV. 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

I. Whenever two-thirds of the members of each house of the 
general assembly shall, by a vote entered upon the journals thereof, 



330 APPENDIX "D" 

concur that a convention is necessary to revise, alter or amend the 
constitution, the question shall be submitted to the electors at the 
next general election. If a majority voting at the election vote for 
a convention, the general assembly shall, at the next session, pro- 
vide for a convention, to consist of double the number of members 
of the senate, to be elected in the same manner, at the same places 
and in the same districts. The general assembly shall, in the act 
calling the convention, designate the day, hour and place of its 
meeting, fix the pay of its members and officers, and provide for 
the payment of the same, together with expenses necessarily in- 
curred by the convention in the performance of its duties. Before 
proceeding, the members shall take an oath to support the constitu- 
tion of the United States, and of the state of Illinois, and to faith- 
fully discharge their duties as members of the convention. The 
qualification of members shall be the same as that of members of 
the senate, and vacancies occurring shall be filled in the manner 
provided for filling vacancies in the general assembly. Said con- 
vention shall meet within three months after such election, and 
prepare such revision, alteration or amendments of the constitution 
as shall be deemed necessary, which shall be submitted to the 
electors for their ratification or rejection, at an election appointed 
by the convention for that purpose, not less than two nor more 
than six months after the adjournment thereof; and unless so sub- 
mitted and approved by a majority of the electors voting at the 
election, no such revision, alterations or amendments shall take 
effect. 

2. Amendments to this constitution may be proposed in either 
house of the general assembly, and if the same shall be voted for 
by two-thirds of all the members elected to each of the two houses, 
such proposed amendments, together with the yeas and nays of each 
house thereon, shall be entered in full on their respective journals; 
and said amendments shall be submitted to the electors of this 
state for adoption or rejection, at the next election of members of 
the general assembly, in such manner as may be prescribed by law. 
The proposed amendments shall be published in full at least three 
months preceding the election, and if a majority of the electors 
voting at said election shall vote for the proposed amendments, 
they shall become a part of this constitution. But the general 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 331 

assembly shall have no power to propose amendments to more 
than one article of this constitution at the same session, nor to the 
same article oftener than once in four years. 

SEPARATE SECTIONS. 

ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. 

No contract, obligation or liability whatever, of the Illinois 
Central Railroad Company, to pay any money into the state treas- 
ury, nor any lien of the state upon, or right to tax property of said 
company in accordance with the provisions of the charter of said 
company, approved February ioth, in the year of our Lord 1851, 
shall ever be released, suspended, modified, altered, remitted, or in 
any manner diminished or impaired by legislative or other author- 
ity; and all moneys derived from said company, after the payment 
of the state debt, shall be appropriated and set apart for the pay- 
ment of the ordinary expenses of the state government, and for no 
other purposes whatever. 

MUNICIPAL SUBSCRIPTIONS TO RAILROADS OR PRIVATE 
CORPORATIONS. 

No county, city, town, township or other municipality, shall ever 
become subscriber to the capital stock of any railroad or private 
corporation, or make donation to or loan its credit in aid of such 
corporation: Provided, however, that the adoption of this article 
shall not be construed as affecting the right of any such municipal- 
ity to make such subscriptions where the same have been author- 
ized, under existing laws, by a vote of the people of such munici- 
palities prior to such adoption. 

CANAL 

The Illinois and Michigan Canal shall never be sold or leased 
until the specific proposition for the sale or lease thereof shall first 
have been submitted to a vote of the people of the state at a gen- 
eral election, and have been approved by a majority of all the votes 
polled at such election. The general assembly shall never loan the 
credit of the state, or make appropriations from the treasury thereof, 



332 APPENDIX "D" 

in aid of railroads or canals: Provided, that any surplus earnings 
of any canal may be appropriated for its enlargement or extension. 

CONVICT LABOR. 

Hereafter it shall be unlawful for the commissioners of any peni- 
tentiary or other reformatory institution in the state of Illinois, to 
let by contract to any person or persons, or corporations, the labor 
of any convict confined within said institution. (This section was 
submitted to the voters at the election in November, 1886, as an 
amendment, was adopted, and became a part of this Constitution.) 

SCHEDULE. 

That no inconvenience may arise from the alterations and amend- 
ments made in the constitution of this state, and to carry the same 
into complete effect, it is hereby ordained and declared: 

1. That all laws in force at the adoption of this constitution, not 
inconsistent therewith, and all rights, actions, prosecutions, claims, 
and contracts of this state, individuals, or bodies corporate, shall 
continue to be as valid as if this constitution had not been adopted. 

2. That all fines, taxes, penalties and forfeitures, due and owing 
to the state of Illinois under the present constitution and laws, shall 
inure to the use of the people of the state of Illinois, under this 
constitution. 

3. Recognizances, bonds, obligations, and all other instruments 
entered into or executed before the adoption of this constitution, to 
the people of the state of Illinois, to any state or county officer or 
public body, shall remain binding and valid; and rights and liabili- 
ties upon the same shall continue, and all crimes and misdemeanors 
shall be tried and punished as though no change had been made in 
the constitution of this state. 

4. County courts for the transaction of county business in coun- 
ties not having adopted township organization, shall continue in 
existence and exercise their present jurisdiction until the board of 
county commissioners provided in this constitution is organized 
in pursuance of an act of the general assembly; and the county 
courts in all other counties shall have the same power and jurisdic- 
tion they now possess until otherwise provided by general law. 

5. All existing courts which are not in this constitution specifi- 



CONSTITUTION OF ILLINOIS 333 

cally enumerated, shall continue in existence and exercise their 
present jurisdiction until otherwise provided by law. 

6. All persons now filling any office or appointment shall con- 
tinue in the exercise of the duties thereof according to their 
respective commissions or appointments, unless by this constitution 
it is otherwise directed. 



18. All laws of the state of Illinois, and all official writings, and 
the executive, legislative and judicial proceedings, shall be con- 
ducted, preserved and published in no other than the English lan- 
guage. 

19. The general assembly shall pass all laws necessary to carry 
into effect the provisions of this constitution. 

20. The circuit clerks of the different counties having a popula- 
tion over sixty thousand, shall continue to be recorders (cx-oMcio) 
for their respective counties, under this constitution, until the 
expiration of their respective terms. 

21. The judges of all courts of record in Cook county shall, in 
lieu of any salary provided for in this constitution, receive the com- 
pensation now provided by law until the adjournment of the first 
session of the general assembly after the adoption of this constitu- 
tion. 

22. The present judge of the circuit court of Cook county shall 
continue to hold the circuit court of Lake county until otherwise 
provided by law. 

23. When this constitution shall be adopted, and take effect as 
the supreme law of the state of Illinois, the two-mill tax provided 
to be annually assessed and collected upon each dollar's worth of 
taxabe property, in addition to all other taxes, as set forth in article 
fifteen of the now existing constitution, shall cease to be assessed 
after the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy. 

24. Nothing contained in this constitution shall be so construed 
as to deprive the general assembly of power to authorize the city of 
Quincy to create any indebtedness for railroad or municipal pur- 
poses, for which the people of said city shall have voted, and to 
which they shall have given, by such vote, their assent, prior to the 
thirteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and sixty-nine: Provided, that no such indebtedness, 



334 APPENDIX "D" 

so created, shall in any part thereof be paid by the state, or from 
any state revenue, tax or fund, but the same shall be paid, if at all, 
by the said city of Quincy alone, and by taxes to be levied upon 
the taxable property thereof: And, provided, further, that the gen- 
eral assembly shall have no power in the premises that it could not 
exercise under the present constitution of this state. 

25. In case this constitution and the articles and sections sub- 
mitted separately be adopted, the existing constitution shall cease 
in all its provisions; and in case this constitution be adopted, and 
any one or more of the articles or sections submitted separately be 
defeated, the provisions of the existing constitution (if any) on the 
same subject shall remain in force. 

26. The provisions of this constitution required to be executed 
prior to the adoption or rejection thereof shall take effect and be 
in force immediately. 

Done in convention at the capitol, in the city of Springfield, on 
the thirteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
eight hundred and seventy, and of the independence of the United 
States of America the ninety-fourth. 



INDEX. 



Adams, J 80, 106 

Adjutant-General 84 

Africa 8 

Agora 11 

Agriculture, Department of 78, 90 

Secretary of 80 

Alaska 87 

Albany Convention 38 

Alderman 193, 194 

Alfred, King of England 173 

Ambassadors and Ministers 72 

Different classes of 72 

Amendments to Constitution of 

United States 102 

America, Central 14 

America, South 14 

Andrews, E. B 10S 

Angles 136 

Anglo-Saxon 130 

Annapolis SO 

Annual Appropriation Bill 171 

Anti-Federalists 114 

Appellate Courts: 

of Illinois 162, 103 

Appointments by Governor of Illi- 
nois 157 

by President 73 

by Mayor 198 

Appropriation Bills 247 

Architect of Chicago Board of 

Education 241 

Army, The 85 

Arthur, C. A 51 

Articles of Confederation 42 

Defects in 42 

Assemblies, Representative 18 

Assessment of Taxes 249-253 

Assessor 183 

Assessors of Taxes 249, 250 

Asia 8 

Attainder 261 

Attorney of Chicago Board of 

Education 241 

Attorney-General 79, 89 

of Illinois 156, 161 



Auditor: 

of Chicago Board of Educa- 
tion 241 

of Illinois 159, 160 

of Public Accounts 156 

Australia 227 

Australian Ballot 227-230 

Ballots, under Australian System.. 228 

Baltic Sea 12 

Bankruptcy, National Law of 63 

Banks, National 62 

Barons' War 20 

Bill of Attainder 261 

Bill of Rights 40, 258 

Definition of 103 

Blackstone, Sir W 1 

Bloomington 155 

Board of County Commissioners. .168 

Duties 170, 171 

Board of Directors 238, 239 

Boards of Education: 

Administrative offices 240 

in certain districts 239 

in cities of 100,000 inhabitants. .240 

Powers 241, 242 

Duties 242 

of City of Chicago, officers. 240, 241 

Board of Health 185, 186 

Board of Registry 221 

Board of Review 250, 251 

Board of Supervisors 168 

Board of Town Auditors 185 

Boston 180, 189 

Boston Port Bill 39 

Boston, Town of 33 

Bouvier's Law Dictionary 173 

Bridewell 207 

Bristol 138 

Bryce, J 94, 103 

Building Department 205 

Building Restrictions 197 

Buildings, Commissioner of 205 

Business Manager of Chicago 

Board of Education 241 

Bureau of Education 88 



(335) 



336 



INDEX 



Bureau of Geological Survey 88 

Burr, A 106 

Cabinet, The 78 

Cabot, J 120 

Cahokia 120 

Cairo 155 

Canada 121, 227 

Canada Thistles 183 

Carolina, North and South 147 

Carpenter's hall 40 

Carson, H 95 

Charles II., King of England 138 

Charter, Definition of 28 

Charter Colonies 32 

Chase, S. P 122 

Chicago 155, 181, 192 

Government of 193 

Public School System 242, 243 

Chief of Bureau of Statistics 84 

Chief of Engineers 85 

Chief Engineer of Chicago Board 

Education 241 

Chief Signal Officer 85 

N Chisholm v. State of Georgia 105 

TChurch Government in New Eng- 
land 128 

Citizen: 

Definition 214 

Duties 262 

Rights and Duties 256 

Citizens and Voters 213,214 

City, Origin of Modern 191 

City Attorney 200, 206 

City Charters, in Illinois 192 

City Clerk 109 

City Collector 200 

City Comptroller 199. 200. 201 

City Council 193, 194-107 

Powers of 194-197 

City Engineer 20.1 

City Government: 

Building Department 205 

Departments and Officers. . .203-206 

Executive Department 198-201 

Financial Department 201 

Fire Department 209 

Health Department 207,208 

Inspectors 210 

Law Department 206 

Legislative Department 193, 194 

Police Department 20S 

Sanitary District of Chicago.. .211 

City Physician 207 

City Treasurer 199 



Circuit Courts of Illinois 163 

of United States 99 

Civil Service Commission. . .91, 201-203 

County 172, 173 

Civil Service Commisssioners 

81, 172, 201 

Civil Service Law, The 81, 172, 201 

Civil Service Examinations 172, 202 

Clan, The 3 

Classified Civil Service, of County. 172 

of City 202 

Clerk of Circuit Court 168 

of Parish 136 

Clerks: 

of Courts 175, 176 

of Election 215, 220 

Clerk and School Agent of Chicago 

Board of Education 240 

Colonies: 

Charter 32 

Proprietary 33 

Royal 31 

Boundaries of Original 86 

Political Status of 34 

Collector 183 

Comitia 11 

Commander in Chief 70, 157 

Commerce: 

Regulation of 58 

Interstate 59 

Commissary Genoral 85 

Commissioner of Buildings 205 

of Customs ^3 

of Health 195, 207 

of Indian Affairs 88 

of Internal Revenue 84 

of Labor 79 

of Navigation 84 

of Patents S3 

of Public Works 204 

of Railroads 88 

Committee on Finance 171 

Committee on Public Service 171. 

Committees, Political 116 

Commutations, of Governor of Illi- 
nois 157 

Comptroller of Currency 83 

City 199, 200, 201 

Compromise Bill of 1820 148 

Concord 41 

Congress: 

Classification of Powers 66 

Express and Implied Powers 
of 113, 114 



INDEX 



.'33? 



Congress: 

Powers of 56-68 

Connecticut 32, 33, 34, 120 

Constables 132, 136, 140, 179, 184 

Constitution: 

Definition of 22 

Written 21 

Constitution of Illinois: 

Adoption 124 

of 1818, 145; provisions for local 

government 146 

of 1818 and 1848 143 

of 1870, 151; provisions for 

counties 167 

Reasons for adoption of 1848... 140 

Constitution of United States 22 

Amendments to 102-109 

Elastic Clause 114 

Objections to adoption 45 

Construction and Repair, Bureau of 80 

Consuls 73 

Contagious diseases 208 

Convention, The Constitutional 45 

Conventions: 

National 116 

Nominating 116 

Cook County, Illinois 163 

County commissioners 170 

County government 168, 169 

Copyrights 63 

Corporation, definition of 62 

Corporation Counsel 199, 206 

Coroner 136, 140, 168 

in Illinois 175 

Council, Governor's 33 

City 193-197 

County: 

English origin 166 

Officers of English 136 

Origin of 135 

Rivalry between town and 

county 149 

County in Illinois: 

Constitutional provisions 167 

County in United States: 

Creation 167 

Corporate powers 167 

Government 167 

County Board 168 

Members 169 

County Clerk 168 

in Illinois 173 

in Cook county 173 

County Commissioners, Board of. . 
146, 16S 



County Committee 116 

County Court: 

Distinction between Virginia 

and Illinois 147 

of Illinois 164, 165 

of Virginia 140 

County Government of Illinois in 

general 166 

County Judge 168 

County Officers 168 

County Recorder 176, 177 

County Superintendent of Schools 

234, 235, 237 

County System: 

Adoption in Illinois 146 

County Taxes 169 

County Treasurer 168 

in Illinois 174, 175 

Courts: 

Federal, 95; jurisdiction of, 96; 

State 161-165 

Courts of United States: 

Territorial 100 

Of Claims 101 

Supreme 53 

Jurisdiction of 53 

Circuit 99 

Circuit of Appeals 99 

District 98 

Crimes, Trial for 97 

Criminal Court of Cook County... 164 
"Critical Period of American His- 
tory, The" 44 

Cushing, C 90 

Custom House Duties 57 

Customs, Commissioner of 83 

Declaration of Independence 26 

Delaware 33, 34, 86 

Democratic party 115 

Department 

of Agriculture 78, 90 

Interior 78, 86 

Justice 78, 89 

Labor 78, 91 

Navy 78, 85 

Public Works 204, 205 

State 78, 81 

Treasury 78, 82 

War 78, 84 

Desplaines River 211 

Development, Governmental 5 

Director of Mint 84 

District Court of the United States. 98 

District of Columbia 67,100 

Dollar, Gold 60 



338 



INDEX 



Drainage Canal 211, 212 

Duties 56 

Dutton, F 227 

Ecclesia 11 

Education, Bureau of 83 

Educational System of Illinois. 233-211 

Constitutional provisions 234 

Origin 233 

Edward I., King of England 20 

Elbe 12 

Election, The 224-22G 

in Illinois 21G 

Elections: 

in cities, villages and incorpo- 
rated towns of Illinois.... 219-232 

of President 52 

Election Commissioners, Board 

of 219, 220 

Election Laws, of Illinois. .213, 214-217 

Electoral College 52 

Eminent Domain 253-255 

Compensation 254 

Contrasted with taxation. .254, 255 

Taking property 254 

Enabling Act, The 143-145 

Propositions of Ill 

England 12, 121, 135, 166, 191, 245 

Engineers, Chief of 85 

Equipment and Recruiting, Bu- 
reau of 8") 

Essex, County of 125 

Evarts, W 00 

Examiner of Claims 90 

Excise 56 

Executive Department 51, 69 

Branches of 7s 

Difference in United States and 
Illinois, 156; of cities 198-201 

Opinions of executive officers. 70 

Family, The 3 

Federalist, The 68 

Federalists 114 

Fence Viewers 182 

Finance, Committee on 171 

Financial Department of Cities 201 

Fire Marshal 200 

Department 209 

First Continental Congress 39 

Fish Commission 91 

Fish, Inspector of 210 

Fiske, J 45, 103, 142 

Florida 87 

Forum 11 

France 14, 87, 121 

Franklin, B 38, 46, 47 



Freedom: 

Absolute 2 

Meaning in governmental 

sense 

of conscience 

of speech and press 259, 260 

French and Indian War 121 

Froude, J 48 

Gas Meters, Inspector of 210 

Geological Survey, Bureau of 88 

Generals: 

Brigadier 86 

Major 

General Assembly of Massachu- 
setts 134 

General Election Law of Illinois.. 
214-217 

General School Law of Illinois 

_ 

Special provisions applicable 
to Chicago 

Georgia 

Gladstone, W 47 

Gold: 

Certificates S3 

Coined 81 

Uncoinod 81 

Government: 

Best form of 2 

Branches of 

Branches of federal 

Definition of l 

Definition of popul i 

Distinctive features of our 17 

Gen< 

Illinois early form of 110 

Limitations of state 26 

Necessity of 1 

Need of central 41 

of cities in Illinois 188 

of Cook County, 111 

of villages 187, 188 

Origin of representative 18, 119 

Outline of federal 

Territorial 65, 66 

Town and county system con- 
trasted 141 

Township and village in Illi- 
nois 180 

Tribal form of 8 

Government, Colonial 28 

Change to state 34 

Government, Municipal 25 

Government Printing Office 91 

Governor of Illinois 156 



INDEX 



339 



Governor of Illinois: 

Appointments 157 

Commander in Chief 157 

Powers and duties 157 

Qualifications 156 

Veto 157 

Grants, Colonial 31 

Greece 11 

Green, J. R 19, 30,104 

"Greenbacks" 62 

Habeas Corpus 162, 258, 259 

Hamilton, A 46, 105, 112, 133 

Health, Board of 185, 186 

Commissioner of 195, 207 

Department 207, 208 

Henry III., King of England 119 

Highway Commissioners 184, 186 

Holland 12 

Hosmer, S 134 

House of Correction 207 

Illinois 135 

Adoption of county system 146 

as Virginia county 121 

Beginnings of township in 147 

Constitutions of 1818 and 1848.. 

143-150 

County government 166 

Counties now adhering to 

county system 150 

Early government 120 

Early settlement 120 

Enabling Act 143-145 

Executive Department 146, 156 

First State Government 145 

Impeachment 155 

Influence of Virginia county 

system 135 

Judicial Department 146 

Legislative Department 

146, 153-155 

Legislative sessions 154 

Local institutions 124 

President of Senate 158 

Qualifications of senators 153 

Qualifications of representa- 
tives 153 

Restriction of power 151 

Rivalry between town and 

county and compromise 149 

Schools 144 

Scope of state government 152 

Speaker of House of Repre- 
sentatives 159 

Territory of 123 

Illinois River 211 



Illinois Towns: 

Comparison with New Eng- 
land towns 186, 187 

Impeachment 75 

Definition of 75, 76 

in Illinois 155 

Method of procedure 

Who liable to 75 

Incorporation of cities 192 

Indian Affairs, Commissioner of. . 88 

Indian, American 8 

Indiana 123, 143 

Indians 50 

Interior: 

Department of 78,86 

Secretary of 86 

Internal Revenue 57 

Commissioner of 84 

Interstate Commerce Commis- 
sion 59, 91 

Inspector General 84 

Inspectors sundry 210 

Jackson, A 80 

James II., King of England 104 

James River 138 

Jefferson, T...80, 106, 113, 122, ,139, 147 
Johns Hopkins University Studies 
in Historical and Political 

Science 147 

John, King of England 29 

Joliet 120 

Judge Advocate General 85 

Judges: 

Federal, tenure of office 98 

of Election 215, 220 

of Illinois, Supreme court 162, 
Appellate court 162, Circuit 
court 163, Cook county 163, 

164, County 164, Probate 164 

of United States Supreme court. 98 
Judicial Department 

of Illinois 161 

of United States 53 

Judicial System, Federal 93-101 

Judiciary Act 98 

Jurisdiction of federal courts 96 

Justice, Department of 78,89 

Justices of the Peace.. 136, 178, 179, 183 

in Chicago 179 

Kaskaskia 120, 124, 143,145 

Kentucky 124. 147 

Labor: 

Department of 78, 91 

Commissioner of 79 

Law, Definition of 1 



340 



INDEX 



Law, Department of Cities 206 

Laws, Ex Post Facto 260 

Lake Michigan 120,211 

Land Office: 

General 86 

Commissioner of 86 

LaSalle 120 

Legislature, Sessions of Illinois. .154 
Legislative Department of Cities. 

193, 194 

Lexington 41 

Libel 260 

Librarian of Congress 63, 91 

Lieutenant Governor 155, 156, 158 

Lincoln, A 14 

Liquor License 196 

Lodge, H 113 

London 138 

Louis XIV 121 

Louisiana 87, 120, 166 

Madison, J 45, 46, 68 

Magna Charta 29, 258 

Mandamus 162 

Marquette 120 

Marshall, Chief Justice 62 

Martin, G 31 

Mary, Princess of Oran£p 104 

Maryland 18, H 86 

Massachusetts 32, 33, 84, 120 

Massachusetts Bill 39 

Mayflower, The 119 

Mayor, The 193, 197, 198 

McMaster, J 190 

Medicine and Surgery, Bureau of. 86 

Messages, President's 74 

Governor's 167 

Mexico 87 

Michigan 123 

Middlesex, County of 135 

Moderator 131, 184 

Mississippi 108 

Mississippi River 120, 121, 143, 211 

Missouri 125, 148 

Monarchy, Absolute 6 

Definition of 9 

Powers of ruler 6 

Monarchy, Constitutional: 

Definition of 12 

Money : 

Borrowing h 58 

Coining 60 

Definition of 60 

Various kinds of 60 

Montfort, Simon de. Earl of 

Leicester 20, 119 

Moore's Arithmetic 251 



Morris, R. and G 46 

Morse, J 80, 106 

Moses' History of Illinois 145 

Mulattoes 145 

Municipal corporations 182 

National Bank Notes 62 

National Committee 115 

National Republican party 115 

Naturalization 64, 65 

Naval Academy 86 

Observatory 86 

Navigation, Bureau of 85 

Commissioner of 84 

Navy: 

Department 85 

Secretary of 85 

Negroes 107, 145 

New England: 

Towns 127 

Town officers 130 

Settlement of 127, 128 

New Hampshire 31, 86 

New Jersey 31, 86 

New York 31, 120, 138, 189, 191 

Nominations under Australian sys- 
tem 228 

Norfolk 136 

North Carolina 31, 105 

"North Folk" W 

North Sea 12 

Northwest Territory 122, 123 

Norway 12 

Obedience to law 262 

Officers, Public: 

agents of people 21 

"Official Ballot" 228 

Ohio 123 

Ohio River 120, 121 

Oil, Inspector of 210 

Oligarchy: 

Definition of 10 

Ordinance of 1787 121-123, 144 

Ordnance, Bureau of 86 

Organization of towns in Illinois. .181 

Pacific Ocean 8 

Pacific Railroad Companies 88 

Paper money 44 

Pardons: 

Definition of 71 

Governor of Illinois 157 

Mayor 198 

President 71 

Parish, English 136 

Parish, Virginia 139 

Government of 139 

Park Commissioners, Board of — 210 



INDEX 



341 



Park Commissioners: 

of Lincoln Park 211 

South Park 211 

West Park 211 

Parks and Boulevards 210, 211 

Parliament, The Model 20 

Parsons, T 90 

Party platform 111,117 

Patents and copyrights 63 

Definition of 63 

Patents, Commissioner of 88 

Payment of taxes 263 

Penn, W 34 

Pensions 88 

Bureau of S8 

Commissioner of 88 

Pennsylvania 33, 34, 86, 112, 138 

Peoria 120 

Personal Liberty 258 

Personal Security 257 

Peterman's Civil Government 227 

Philadelphia 45, 189 

Pilgrim Fathers 119 

Pinckney, T 46, 106 

Pinckney, W 46, 90 

Plymouth 119 

Police courts 206, 207 

Department 208 

Police magistrates 206 

Political Committees 116 

Political parties Ill 

Organization 115 

Origin Ill 

Politics, Definition of 110 

Politician 110 

Polling Place 215, 221 

Postmaster-General 79, 89 

PostofFice Department 78, 89 

Potomac River 138 

Poundkeepers 132 

Precincts 215, 220 

President of United States. 14, 51,70,75 

Commander in Chief 70 

His appointments 73 

Messages 74 

Method of electing 52 

Method of counting votes 52 

Powers 73 

Responsibility 75 

President of Board of Educa- 
tion 239, 240 

President of County Board 170 

Primaries 117, 230, 232 

Primary Election Law 230 

Probate Court of Cook County 165 

Property 257 



Proprietary Colonies 33 

Prosecuting Attorney 216 

Protection from unjust laws 260 

Provisions and Clothing, Bureau 

of 86 

Public Affairs, Participation in 264 

Public Lands 87, 144 

Public Library 210 

Public Register 222 

Public School Teachers 243, 244 

Public Service, Committee on 171 

Public Works: 

Commissioner of 204 

Department of 204, 205 

Quartering Act 40 

Quartermaster-General 85 

Quasi-municipal corporations 182 

Quebec Act 40 

Railroads, Commissioner of 88 

Randolph, J 46 

Reconstruction Period 107 

Recorder of Deeds 168 

Register 221 

of Treasury 83 

Registration 217-219, 220 

Registry, Board of 221 

Removals, By Governor of Illinois, 
157; by Impeachment, 75; by 

Mayor, 198; by President 80 

Representation: 

History of Government by 19 

Minority 154 

Unit of 134 

Representatives : 

House of 50 

of Illinois 153 

Reprieves 75 

Definition of 71 

Governor's 157 

President's 71 

Republic: 

Definition of 14 

Distinguished from all other 

governments 15 

Modern 13 

Origin of ancient 11 

Republican party 115 

Review, Board of 250, 251 

Rhode Island 32, 33, 34, 86 

Right to hold office 262 

Rights and duties of citizens 256 

Robinson Crusoe 1 

Rome 11 

Roundheads 138 

Royal Colonies 31 

Russia 87 



342 



INDEX 



Rutledge, J 46 

Salt Springs 145 

Sanitary District of Chicago 211 

School Committee 131 

School Lands 243 

Schools, 

Provision for support in Illinois. 144 
Sealers of Weights and Measures. .132 

Second Continental Congress 41 

Secretary: 

of Agriculture 86 

of Interior 86 

of Navy 85 

of State ,.... 81 

of Treasury 82 

of War 84 

of State of Illinois 156, 159 

Selectmen 130 

Self-Support 264 

Senate, The 50 

Senators, of Illinois 153 

Shaw, A 147, 148 

Sheriff 136, 168, 173, 174 

Sheriffs: 

in Virginia 141 

Origin of Office 173 

Sherman, R 46 

Silver: 

Bullion 61 

Certificate 61 

Coin 61 

Slander 260 

Slavery 125, 146, US 

Solicitor of Internal Revenue 90 

Solicitor of Treasury 84, 90 

South Carolina 31 

"South Folk" 136 

Spain 87 

Speaker 50, 154 

Special Legislation Forbidden 166 

Springfield 151, 162 

State's Attorney 177, 17S 

State Board of Equalization 251 

State Committee 116 

State Common School Fund 243 

State: 

Department of 78, 81 

Secretary 81 

Secretary of State of Illinois. 

156, 159 

Statistics, Chief of Bureau of 84 

Stamp Act Congress 38 

Stanton, E 90 

Steam Boilers, Inspector of 210 

Steam Engineering, Bureau of 86 

Story, Justice 35 



Street Railroads 196 

Suffrage 261 

Suffolk 13C 

Superior Court: 

of Chicago 164 

of Cook County 194 

Superintendent: 

of Bureau of Printing and En- 
graving 84 

of Census 88 

of City Telegraph 

of Life-Saving Service 

of Maps 205 

of Police 

of Public Instruction 

K 

of Public Service 

of Schools of Chicago 

of Supplies of Chicago Board 
of Education 

of Sewers 

of Streets 199 

of Water Office 

Supervising Architect 

Supervisor 1 

Supervisors, Board of flH 

Supreme Court: 

of Illinois 161 

of United States 94 

Organization 97 

Surgeon-General 

Surreys, Land 

Surveyors 140 

Surveyor*! of Lumber 132 

Qg in votes 21 S 

Sw< den 12 

Taney, R 90 

Tariff 57 

Tax, Definition of 

Tax Dodger 

Taxation 112 

Computing rate of 

Contrasted with eminent do- 
main 

Federal 

Illinois constitutional provi- 
sions 

Necessity of power in national 
government 43 

of colonies 38 

Taxation and Eminent Domain 245 

Taxes: 

Assessment of 2; 

City, 194; County 171 

Collection of 251 

Definition of 245, 246 



INDEX 



343 



Taxes: 

Delinquent 252, 253 

Direct 58 

Indirect 57 

in Virginia 140 

Necessity for 2-16 

Objects for which levied. .247, 248 

State 247 

Tennessee 108 

Texas 108 

Thackeray, W 138 

Town, Rivalry between county and. 149 

Unit of representation 134 

Towns, Corporate powers 182 

Town Auditors, Board of 185 

Town Clerk 131, 183, 185 

Town Officers 184 

Town Treasurer 131 

Town meeting: 

Influence of 132 

of New England 130 

Records of Boston 133 

Townshend Acts 38 

Township: 

Beginnings in Illinois 147 

of New England 129 

Treasurer 238 

Trustees 237, 238 

Township Government: 

in Illinois 180 

Town Meeting 183 

Transportation Bill 39 

Treason, Definition of 54 

Treasurer: 

City 199 

County 168, 178 

of Illinois 156, 160 

Township 23S 

United States 83 

Treasury, The S2 

Department of 78, 82 

of United States S2 

Officers of 82, 83, 84 

Secretary of 82 

Treasury Notes 61 

Treaties 71 

Approval of 71 

Definition of 71 

Mode of Negotiating 71 

Tribe, The 4 

Formation of 4 

Mode of Life 5 



Unit of Representation 134,139 

Value, Standard of 60 

Venice 11 

Verification Lists 222 

Vestry Meeting 136 

Veto: 

Definition of 158 

Governor's 158 

President of County Board 170 

Mayor's 198 

Villages: 

Formation in Illinois 187 

Village Trustees 18S 

Virginia 31, 108, 

....120, 121, 124, 146, 147, 148, 166, 169 

Settlement of 137 

Social conditions 137-139 

Taxation in 140 

Virginia County: 

Government of 138,139 

Old 135 

Unit of Representation 138,139 

Votes: 

Method of counting 216, 217, 225 

Official count 226 

Voters 213 

Voting under Australian system 

229-230 

Wabash River 143 

War: 

Bureaus of department 84 

Department of 84 

Secretary of 84 

Wardens, Church 136 

Washington, D. C 50, 86, 98 

Washington. G 46, 106, 113, 190 

Weather Bureau 91 

Webster, D 122 

Weights and Measures. Inspectors 

of 210 

Sealers of 132 

Whig party 115 

Whisky Rebellion 112 

William, Prince of Orange 104 

Wilson, W 152, 156 

Women: 

As school officers 244 

Power to vote at school elec- 
tions 244 

Yards and Docks, Bureau of 85 



*lAi 



2l 



; % 



